A North Dakota public official claimed Wednesday the Obama administration’s decision to let the Dakota pipeline fester for several weeks would ultimately escalate protesters’ violent activities.
Cody Schulz, chairman of the Morton County commission, blasted President Barack Obama for saying he was going to let the pipeline issue resume for several weeks and let the government determine whether there is a way to reroute the hotly contested pipeline.
Obama also suggested that “there’s an obligation for authorities to show restraint” when handling the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at the Cannon Ball campsite in North Dakota.
“When President Obama says he wants to let the situation ‘play out for several more weeks’, it affords the opportunity to the out-of-state militant faction of this protest to keep escalating their violent activities,” Schulz told reporters.
He added: “Rather than creating further uncertainty, the president should be sending us the support and resources necessary to enforce the law and protect people’s right to peacefully protest. Given the recent escalation of violence by protesters, letting the situation ‘play out’ is quite literally putting lives in danger.”
Federal officials have refused to evict those hunkered down at an anti-pipeline encampment near the highly controversial, $3.8 billion project. Officials believe booting the protesters would harm free speech rights, despite the fact that the land is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Protesters and members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe argue the pipeline’s construction would trample on tribal lands and destroy artifacts. They also believe it could potentially poison waterways, including the Missouri River and Lake Oahe in North Dakota.
Law enforcement officials arrested 141 people on Oct. 28 after violent confrontations with Standing Rock members and various out-of-state activists. Another person was arrested shortly thereafter, bringing the total number of arrests to 411, according to the Morton County Sheriff’s Office.
Meanwhile, agitators set nine vehicles ablaze, and destroyed construction equipment and debris on a bridge, resulting in the closure of Highway 1806. A woman was arrested in another incident after pulling a pistol from her waistband and firing shots at the police.
Obama’s comments didn’t go over well among tribe members either.
“Everybody’s hurt. Everybody’s upset,” Arlana Curley, a Cheyenne River Sioux tribe member, told reports. “I felt it was very arrogant for him to say that he would wait it out and monitor. Why are they sitting there monitoring this when they are seeing all these state officials breaking the law?”
Curley’s criticisms come despite the Obama’s decision to temporary halt the 1,100-mile-long pipeline Sept. 9 in an effort to give the government more time to determine the effects the project will have on the environment.
Energy Transfer Partners, the company responsible for constructing the pipeline, has continued rapid construction on the project all the way to Lake Oahe’ shore.
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