Story out of Bismarck, North Dakota:
The standoff over the Dakota Access Pipeline is heating up, and protesters say they won't back down.
Long-brewing tensions over the controversial project boiled over Thursday, as police in riot gear faced off with protesters on horseback. After hours of clashes, law enforcement officials arrested 141 people.
A court decision allowing construction of the $3.7 billion pipeline across four states hasn't dampened demonstrators' furor over the project. The developer calls it an economic boon that will make the US less dependent on imported oil. But protesters say it threatens the environment and will destroy Native American burial sites, prayer sites and artifacts.
Police deployed bean bags, pepper spray gas and unleashed a high-pitched siren as they tried to disperse the crowd. Protesters lit debris on fire and threw Molotov cocktails, North Dakota Department of Emergency Services spokeswoman Cecily Fong said.
Authorities accused most of the arrested demonstrators of trespassing on private property. Supporters of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe had earlier set up tents and teepees on the land, which they said belongs to the tribe under a 19th-century treaty. Cont. (Video)
Story from - CNN
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