Dakota Access Pipeline standoff continues as local Native Americans protest

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Dakota Access Pipeline standoff continues as local Native Americans protest

In the U.S. state of North Dakota, the state capitol building was locked down for a time Monday to keep large numbers of demonstrators from gathering inside.

The protesters want to block construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a controversial project that would transport crude oil across four U.S. states. It’s been a tense few months along the pipeline route, for both protesters and police.

CCTV America’s Hendrik Sybrandy reports.

On a chilly morning along a North Dakota highway, large numbers of people, many of them Native American, gather near a construction site to voice their anger about work being done there.

The Dakota Access Pipeline already runs beneath protesters’ feet. But oil has not begun flowing through it. These so-called “water protectors” believe there’s still time to stop a project they say would threaten water supplies for years to come.

It isn’t long before state patrolmen also say enough is enough. They decide it’s time to break up the gathering. Some pepper spray was fired and arrests were made.

EXPLAINER: Why people are protesting the DAPL?

For months now, police and pipeline opponents have gone toe-to-toe in this area. Most protests have remained peaceful but a handful of them have not. Hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested. Some say police have overreacted.

Police said these protesters trespassed on private land, then damaged construction equipment and slashed the tires on some of their patrol cars. Some officers also claimed they’ve been threatened. And some on this side of the line admit there have been rogue elements in their ranks.

Demonstrators said when it comes to the pipeline issue, they’re not going anywhere and that they’re peaceful unless provoked.