Federal authorities are evicting the water protectors from the Oceti Sakowin camp by force and the images coming out of the protest site are extremely disturbing.
With 46 arrests and no injuries reported, police from around North Dakota and three other states cleared and closed the main camp used by protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline by early Thursday afternoon.
Police entered the camp Thursday morning in armored personnel carriers, as a helicopter and fixed-wing airplane circled overhead. Dozens of officers moved tent to tent and shack to shack with guns drawn, clearing out demonstrators. By 2:09 p.m. Central Time, it was all over.
One group of veterans in a tent refused to leave and informed officers they would not be violent, but would go only with passive resistance. Officers carried them out, according to the Morton County Sheriff’s office.
Rob Keller of the Morton County Sheriff’s Office, described the final closure as “a very smooth operation.”
Most campers left Wednesday just before the deadline of 2 p.m. The governor of North Dakota ordered the camp cleared, citing in an evacuation order on Feb. 15 due to the risk of possible flooding.
See More- Source: Seattle Times