Water protectors on Monday blocked the entrance to an Enbridge terminal in Minnesota to display ongoing opposition to the proposed Line 3 tar sands project. (Photo: ResistLine3 via Twitter)
Law Enforcement Crushing Pipeline Dissent in Minnesota at Water Protectors' Blockade of Enbridge Terminal
Police were about to saw off the leg of a tripod from which a protester was hanging, activists said.
Police in Clearbrook, Minnesota were accused of putting the "profits of oil companies before human life" after activists said law enforcement on Monday began sawing the leg of a tripod from which a tar sands protester was suspended.
An estimated 30 protesters blockaded the entrance to Enbrige's Clearbrook Terminal in a display of ongoing opposition to the oil company's proposed Line 3 project, which would bring tar sands from Alberta to a Wisconsin shipping hub, passing through Minnesota.
Several activists held a large banner across the road to the entrance reading "Stop Line 3. Protect the Sacred." They stood in front of 21-year-old Sara-Beth Anderson, who was suspended from the tripod.
The ResistLine3 Twitter account shared photos and details about the action on social media, including that police began to saw one of the tripod legs, prompting Anderson to come down on her own to avoid bodily harm.
After Anderson descended, she was taken into police custody.
In a press statement ahead of the action, Anderson said she was undertaking "this risk for the unborn, for the Indigenous peoples fighting to protect their territories all over the planet, for the oceans."
The Line 3 project has been the target of sustained criticism and protests over its threats to human rights and the environment, including jeopardizing water resources.
Critics say the pipeline project would violate tribal nations' sovereignty and expands fossil fuel infrastructure when the climate crisis shows the need to stop investing in dirty fuels.
StopLine3 noted an additional concern in a tweet on Monday. "With projects like Line 3 come man camps that increase violence against Indigenous women. 1 in 3 native women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. This ongoing colonialism must end. We must #StopLine3."
The power of protest hasn't gone without the notice of law enforcement. According to records obtained earlier this year by The Intercept, Minnesota police looked to the example North Dakota law enforcement set in their harsh crackdown of Standing Rock protesters to gear up for their own potential crackdown of Line 3 protesters.
"The destruction of the sacred is happening because of these terrible decisions to keep extracting, to keep harming the Earth despite what climate science has told the world's leaders," Anderson said in her statement.
"Anyone can take a stand against the greatest threat facing our shared world," she added, "get involved, get involved now."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Police in Clearbrook, Minnesota were accused of putting the "profits of oil companies before human life" after activists said law enforcement on Monday began sawing the leg of a tripod from which a tar sands protester was suspended.
An estimated 30 protesters blockaded the entrance to Enbrige's Clearbrook Terminal in a display of ongoing opposition to the oil company's proposed Line 3 project, which would bring tar sands from Alberta to a Wisconsin shipping hub, passing through Minnesota.
Several activists held a large banner across the road to the entrance reading "Stop Line 3. Protect the Sacred." They stood in front of 21-year-old Sara-Beth Anderson, who was suspended from the tripod.
The ResistLine3 Twitter account shared photos and details about the action on social media, including that police began to saw one of the tripod legs, prompting Anderson to come down on her own to avoid bodily harm.
After Anderson descended, she was taken into police custody.
In a press statement ahead of the action, Anderson said she was undertaking "this risk for the unborn, for the Indigenous peoples fighting to protect their territories all over the planet, for the oceans."
The Line 3 project has been the target of sustained criticism and protests over its threats to human rights and the environment, including jeopardizing water resources.
Critics say the pipeline project would violate tribal nations' sovereignty and expands fossil fuel infrastructure when the climate crisis shows the need to stop investing in dirty fuels.
StopLine3 noted an additional concern in a tweet on Monday. "With projects like Line 3 come man camps that increase violence against Indigenous women. 1 in 3 native women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. This ongoing colonialism must end. We must #StopLine3."
The power of protest hasn't gone without the notice of law enforcement. According to records obtained earlier this year by The Intercept, Minnesota police looked to the example North Dakota law enforcement set in their harsh crackdown of Standing Rock protesters to gear up for their own potential crackdown of Line 3 protesters.
"The destruction of the sacred is happening because of these terrible decisions to keep extracting, to keep harming the Earth despite what climate science has told the world's leaders," Anderson said in her statement.
"Anyone can take a stand against the greatest threat facing our shared world," she added, "get involved, get involved now."
Police in Clearbrook, Minnesota were accused of putting the "profits of oil companies before human life" after activists said law enforcement on Monday began sawing the leg of a tripod from which a tar sands protester was suspended.
An estimated 30 protesters blockaded the entrance to Enbrige's Clearbrook Terminal in a display of ongoing opposition to the oil company's proposed Line 3 project, which would bring tar sands from Alberta to a Wisconsin shipping hub, passing through Minnesota.
Several activists held a large banner across the road to the entrance reading "Stop Line 3. Protect the Sacred." They stood in front of 21-year-old Sara-Beth Anderson, who was suspended from the tripod.
The ResistLine3 Twitter account shared photos and details about the action on social media, including that police began to saw one of the tripod legs, prompting Anderson to come down on her own to avoid bodily harm.
After Anderson descended, she was taken into police custody.
In a press statement ahead of the action, Anderson said she was undertaking "this risk for the unborn, for the Indigenous peoples fighting to protect their territories all over the planet, for the oceans."
The Line 3 project has been the target of sustained criticism and protests over its threats to human rights and the environment, including jeopardizing water resources.
Critics say the pipeline project would violate tribal nations' sovereignty and expands fossil fuel infrastructure when the climate crisis shows the need to stop investing in dirty fuels.
StopLine3 noted an additional concern in a tweet on Monday. "With projects like Line 3 come man camps that increase violence against Indigenous women. 1 in 3 native women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. This ongoing colonialism must end. We must #StopLine3."
The power of protest hasn't gone without the notice of law enforcement. According to records obtained earlier this year by The Intercept, Minnesota police looked to the example North Dakota law enforcement set in their harsh crackdown of Standing Rock protesters to gear up for their own potential crackdown of Line 3 protesters.
"The destruction of the sacred is happening because of these terrible decisions to keep extracting, to keep harming the Earth despite what climate science has told the world's leaders," Anderson said in her statement.
"Anyone can take a stand against the greatest threat facing our shared world," she added, "get involved, get involved now."