Sheriff downplays possibility of confrontation as veterans swarm into the ranks of the Dakota pipeline

Record ID: 75584

  • Title: Sheriff downplays possibility of confrontation as veterans swarm into the ranks of the Dakota pipeline
  • Date: 4th December 2016
  • Summary: MANDAN, NORTH DAKOTA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) MORTON COUNTY SHERIFF KYLE KIRCHMEIER LETTING PERSON INTO BUILDING SHERIFF KIRCHMEIER SPEAKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MORTON COUNTY SHERIFF KYLE KIRCHMEIER SAYING: "Well, it's a concern, but I still maintain that if this is supposed to be peaceful, there absolutely will be no issues with it. I know there are a large group of individuals that are and want to maintain peace, but there are definitely agitators that are inside this group and want to cause problems and actually want to cause a confrontation between law enforcement and the protesters that are out there. But, that solves nothing. It doesn't get to the root of the problem and it sure doesn't stop the pipeline from going in the ground. There's a bigger issue here that cannot be solved standing out on the prairie." INSIGNIA ON SHIRT (SOUNDBITE) (English) MORTON COUNTY SHERIFF KYLE KIRCHMEIER SAYING: "Well, I hope not. The offer's out there for the protesters that they can come down to the bridge and do their protests that's peaceful and lawful and law enforcement, as long as that continues, law enforcement will back off during that time and we will give them space to do this and have their voice heard. But, that doesn't mean trespassing on the bridge or tearing down barricades or being aggressive or doing anything towards law enforcement. We are not the aggressors here. We're here making sure that law is being maintained and if they do anything towards law enforcement, that's on them." SHERIFF KIRCHMEIER SPEAKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MORTON COUNTY SHERIFF KYLE KIRCHMEIER SAYING: "The biggest thing is the crowd control, but if they really claim, and I've heard this over and over: 'this is a peaceful and prayerful'; well, if this is peaceful and prayerful then there will be no confrontation with law enforcement at all." MORE OF SHERIFF KIRCHMEIER SPEAKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MORTON COUNTY SHERIFF KYLE KIRCHMEIER SAYING: "Well, that's what I'm trying to figure out what that is, but like I said before this is much deeper than just putting the pipeline in the ground. There is no work going on right now. You know, the drill site is there, but nothing is happening until this easement is going on. So, right now all these protests are taking place and nothing is happening. So, the biggest thing is you got to get to the root of the issue and I can't solve that problem. The county can't solve that problem. The state of North Dakota cannot solve that problem. It is a federal issue and the federal government needs to get involved because this wraps around treaties and a pipeline that goes through multiple states. This is not a Morton County issue, but we have been put in the middle of this and been made an agenda for everybody coming here, but this is much bigger than that and we are not going to be able to solve it without the federal government's assistance." MORE OF SHERIFF KIRCHMEIER SPEAKING TO REPORTERS EXTERIOR OF MORTON COUNTY/MANDAN POLICE BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2016 07:22
  • Keywords: North Dakota pipeline protest sheriff
  • Location: MANDAN, NORTH DAKOTA, UNITED STATES
  • City: MANDAN, NORTH DAKOTA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015BGUGQV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As several thousand U.S. military veterans descended upon North Dakota to join Native American protests against a multibillion-dollar oil pipeline project, law enforcement officials downplay the possibility of a confrontation.
    "If they really claim, and I've heard this over and over: 'this is a peaceful and prayerful'; well, if this is peaceful and prayerful then there will be no confrontation with law enforcement at all," Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier told Reuters late on Saturday (December 3).
    Veterans Stand for Standing Rock, a group with over 3,500 members, aim to form a human barrier in front of police to assist thousands of activists who have spent months demonstrating against plans to route the Dakota Access Pipeline beneath a reservoir lake near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
    The group of veterans, including members already gathered at the site, will also finish building a barracks and mess hall near where they constructed a headquarters at the Oceti Sakowin camp about 5 miles (8 km) north of the small town of Cannon Ball.
    Violent confrontations have flared near the route of the pipeline, with state and local law enforcement using tear gas, rubber bullets and water hoses on the protesters, even in freezing weather.
    Some 564 people have been arrested, the Morton County Sheriff's Department said.
    "I still maintain that if this is supposed to be peaceful, there absolutely will be no issues with it. I know there are a large group of individuals that are and want to maintain peace, but there are definitely agitators that are inside this group and want to cause problems and actually want to cause a confrontation between law enforcement and the protesters that are out there. But, that solves nothing. It doesn't get to the root of the problem and it sure doesn't stop the pipeline from going in the ground. There's a bigger issue here that cannot be solved standing out on the prairie," said Kirchmeier.
    State officials on Monday ordered the thousands of protesters now present to leave the snowy camp, which is on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land, citing harsh weather, but on Wednesday they said they would not enforce the order. The temperature in Cannon Ball is expected to fall to 4 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 Celsius) next week.
    "I still maintain that if this is supposed to be peaceful, there absolutely will be no issues with it. I know there are a large group of individuals that are and want to maintain peace, but there are definitely agitators that are inside this group and want to cause problems and actually want to cause a confrontation between law enforcement and the protesters that are out there. But, that solves nothing. It doesn't get to the root of the problem and it sure doesn't stop the pipeline from going in the ground. There's a bigger issue here that cannot be solved standing out on the prairie," explained Kirchmeier.
    The 1,172-mile (1,885-km) pipeline project, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP, is mostly complete, except for a segment planned to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.
    "This is much deeper than just putting the pipeline in the ground. There is no work going on right now. You know, the drill site is there, but nothing is happening until this easement is going on. So, right now all these protests are taking place and nothing is happening. So, the biggest thing is you got to get to the root of the issue and I can't solve that problem. The county can't solve that problem. The state of North Dakota cannot solve that problem. It is a federal issue and the federal government needs to get involved," said Kirchmeier.
    Protesters, who refer to themselves as "water protectors", have been gearing up for the winter while they await the Army Corps decision on whether to allow Energy Transfer to tunnel under the river. The Army Corps has twice delayed that decision.
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