North Dakota’s former Republican governor asked Wyoming Highway Patrol to send riot squads and cops with active shooter training to suppress violent anti-pipeline protests, according to documents obtained by a media advocacy group.
Former Gov. Jack Dalrymple asked Wisconsin for help dealing with “civil unrest” and “criminal activities related to opposition of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) project,” according to public records communications obtained by Muck Rock.
The North Dakota Republican asked his Wyoming counterpart in a Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request to send 40 officers to Morton County for assistance quelling what he deemed increasingly violent protests. An EMAC allows states to share valuable resources during emergency situations.
Dalrymple also a 40/37 mm chemical munitions launcher, which could have been used used to discharge tear gas on anti-DAPL demonstrators. The Morton County sheriff’s department used tear gas and high-pressured water hoses during November protests to disperse 400 “very aggressive” activists.
Anti-DAPL and Standing Rock Sioux members believe the line’s construction would trample on tribal lands and potentially poison Lake Oahe. The pipeline’s opponents continue to say the protests are largely peaceful and nonviolent.
Those responding to the governor’s requests would be assigned to reconnaissance work, function as riot police otherwise known as mobile field force, or participate in Immediate Action Team (IAC), Dalrymple’s office told Muck Rock. IACs are typically used in active shooter emergencies.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol has not responded to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s repeated requests for comments, and TheDCNF has been unable to reach Dalrymple to corroborate Muck Rock’s reporting.
Law enforcement officers believe the federal government has purposely held back directing resources and crowd control support to the campsite. Some believe the Army Corps of Engineer’s decision in December to reject the previously-approved DAPL came as a result of “backroom dealings” within the Obama administration.
Center for Individual Freedom in Virginia, for instance, filed a Freedom of Information Act request last week against Jodi Gillette — the sister of the Standing Rock’s chairman, Dave Archambault II — seeking all communications between her and President Barack Obama regarding DAPL. Gillette was a policy adviser for the Obama administration from 2012 to 2015.
Lee is trying to determine if Archambault had any communications about the project with Gillette prior to the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to halt construction pending an environmental impact review.
The National Sheriffs’ Association suspected Gillette and Obama colluded to help energize the protesters. The group complained in October that Gillette’s ties to the administration and the tribe helped prevent federal officials from helping control unruly protests.
Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the DAPL, expects the line to create up to 12,000 construction jobs and provide millions in state and local revenues during the construction phase. The company’s bottom line is taking a hit everyday the project is offline — it is losing $20 million every day it is delayed.
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