Watch: Dakota Access Pipeline Protesters Assaulted With Water Cannons, Tear Gas, and Rubber Bullets
On Sunday night, the situation at the Dakota Access Pipeline escalated into violence when water protectors at the encampment near the North Dakota Standing Rock Sioux reservation were doused with water cannons in below freezing weather, reported the New York Times.
During the protests, which Morton County Sheriff’s Department characterized as an “ongoing riot,” demonstrators were enclosed on a bridge and assaulted by police with water cannons, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets.
Police said that several fires were started on the bridge, and that they used water cannons to kill the flames and push back the activists.
However, video captured from the scene has many people cringing at the sight of what is reminiscent of the water hoses used on civil rights activists in the 1960s.
Aerial footage shows intense water being use on protesters with no flames in sight
Eventually, police deployed tear gas and rubber bullets on demonstrators
As news of the assaults broke this morning, many influential people have demanded that the president take action to protect the people of the reservation
If the standoff at the pipeline continues as it has, many expect the White House and/or the president to speak on the the current status of the pipeline, and how they will protect the clean water for the people of the Sioux reservation.
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