Sign up for our newsletter.

Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.

Follow us:

We know how much you value the nonprofit, independent journalism of Common Dreams. The only thing that keeps us going is support from readers like you. As some have been forced to cut back on giving, your contribution becomes even more important. So please, join the small group of generous readers who donate, keeping Common Dreams free for millions of people each year. Help fill the gap created by those who have been forced to cancel their monthly recurring donations. Without your help, we won’t survive.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

If you’ve been waiting for the right time to support our work—that time is now.

Our mission is simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.

But without the support of our readers, this model does not work and we simply won’t survive. It’s that simple.
We must meet our Mid-Year Campaign goal but we need you now.

Please, support independent journalism today.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Join the small group of generous readers who donate, keeping Common Dreams free for millions of people each year. Without your help, we won’t survive.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Water protectors march against the Dakota Access Pipeline on Saturday, October 22, 2016. (Photo: Reuters)

'Stakes Are Getting Higher': 83 People Arrested, Maced in North Dakota

Saturday's arrests follow reports of escalating police abuse at the protest sites, including beatings and unnecessary strip-searches of those arrested

Nadia Prupis

More than 80 people were arrested in North Dakota on Saturday, as police armed with pepper spray descended on a protest near the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) construction site.

The 83 water protectors were hit with charges ranging from rioting to criminal trespass, according to the Morton County sheriff's department. The Bismarck Tribune reported:

Kellie Berns, a protester who hung back behind a fence at the scene, said she received reports of people being pepper-sprayed and thrown to the ground and described law enforcement as being more aggressive than in past incidents. She said protesters were encircled by police as they walked onto the site. 

"People came back very distressed," she said of those who returned to the fence following the demonstration. "The pipeline is getting a lot closer, so the stakes are getting higher."

Protests against DAPL have been ongoing for months, as the Standing Rock Sioux, along with other tribes and environmental activists, say the $3.8 billion, 1,100-mile pipeline threatens their access to clean water and violates Native American treaty rights.

Last week, riot charges against Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman were dismissed after she turned herself in to North Dakota police. An arrest warrant was issued after Goodman's crew videotaped a private security team hired by the pipeline company assaulting peaceful protesters with attack dogs and pepper spray. Meanwhile, documentary filmmaker Deia Schlosberg faces up to 45 years in prison for reporting on the protests.

"This string of arrests constitutes nothing less than a war on journalism and a victory for fossil fuel interests that have banked on the pipeline," Food and Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter said last week.

Saturday's arrests follow reports of escalating police abuse at the protest sites, including beatings and unnecessary strip-searches of those arrested.

On Twitter, Ojibwe activist and attorney Tara Houska wrote:

Journalists, attorneys, indigenous protectors arrested & maced while demonstrating today. Whose interest is North Dakota protecting?

 

Construction on the pipeline is continuing despite a request from the federal government to put a halt on activity so that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can properly consider objections.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Comments

"I'm sure this will be all over the corporate media, right?"
That’s what one longtime Common Dreams reader said yesterday after the newsroom reported on new research showing how corporate price gouging surged to a nearly 70-year high in 2021. While major broadcasters, newspapers, and other outlets continue to carry water for their corporate advertisers when they report on issues like inflation, economic inequality, and the climate emergency, our independence empowers us to provide you stories and perspectives that powerful interests don’t want you to have. But this independence is only possible because of support from readers like you. You make the difference. If our support dries up, so will we. Our crucial Mid-Year Campaign is now underway and we are in emergency mode to make sure we raise the necessary funds so that every day we can bring you the stories that corporate, for-profit outlets ignore and neglect. Please, if you can, support Common Dreams today.

 

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Latest News

See all
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) attend a Senate Health, Education Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. on September 25, 2018.

'We Need Action': Biden, Democrats Urged to Protect Abortion Access in Post-Roe US

"The Supreme Court doesn't get the final say on abortion," Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith wrote in a new op-ed.

Kenny Stancil ·

A driver is seen running into abortion rights defenders in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on June 24, 2022.

Motorist 'Tried to Murder' Abortion Rights Advocates at Iowa Protest, Witnesses Say

Although one witness said the driver went "out of his way" to hit pro-choice protestors in the street, Cedar Rapids police declined to make an arrest.

Kenny Stancil ·

People lay Pride flags and flowers outside the gay bar where a gunman in Oslo killed two people and injured 21 on June 25, 2022.

'A Hate Crime': Oslo Pride Parade Canceled After Deadly Shooting at Gay Bar

A 42-year-old gunman has been charged with terrorism following what Norway's prime minister called a "terrible and deeply shocking attack on innocent people."

Kenny Stancil ·

Roe protest

'We WILL Fight Back': Outrage, Resolve as Protests Erupt Against SCOTUS Abortion Ruling

Demonstrators took to the streets Friday to defiantly denounce the Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority after it rescinded a constitutional right for the first time in U.S. history.

Brett Wilkins ·

Abortion rights activists hoist their signs outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on June 24, 2022.

80+ US Prosecutors Vow Not to Be Part of Criminalizing Abortion Care

"Criminalizing and prosecuting individuals who seek or provide abortion care makes a mockery of justice," says a joint statement signed by 84 elected attorneys. "Prosecutors should not be part of that."

Kenny Stancil ·

Most Popular

 
  1. Citing 'Deluge of New Evidence,' House Jan. 6 Committee Delays Hearings
  2. 'Unconscionable': House Committee Adds $37 Billion to Biden's $813 Billion Military Budget
  3. The Right-Wing Supreme Court Readies to Help Destroy the Planet
  4. Why Do Tens of Millions in US Support an Economic System That Doesn't Benefit Them?
  5. Study Shows Excess Corporate Profits in the US Have Become 'Widespread'
  6. Demanding Prosecution, Legal Experts Say This Is the 'Smoking Gun' to Nail Trump
  7. 'He Must Resign': Staff Texts Over Fake Elector Slates Implicate Ron Johnson
  8. 'We Won't Go Back!': Rapid-Response Protests Across US After Roe Reversal
  9. Supreme Court Ruling Turns Separation of Church and State Into 'Constitutional Violation,' Warns Sotomayor
  10. As Right-Wing Majority Shows Its Face, Confidence in Supreme Court Hits All-Time Low
Common Dreams Logo

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.