Emergency Noon Rally Today: Stand With Standing Rock, Stop Hennepin County’s Militarized Involvement

Today at Noon at the Government Plaza Light Rail Station, people will gather in support of the Water Protectors opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline. They also are opposing the deployment of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputies to the Water Protectors Camp near the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota.

Here is the Facebook Post for the event. It says in part:

Standing Rock needs us now more than ever, especially given the deployment of Special Ops from Hennepin County and two other counties. Faith Leaders and residents of MN are outraged by the deployment of Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department forces to North Dakota to take part in the hyper-militarized and violent repression of peaceful demonstrations in opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline.

Here is a link to Honor the Earth’s petition, asking Hennepin County residents to call Sheriff Rick Stanek and their County Commissioners and tell them to pull county support for the armed intimidation and arrests of peaceful protesters. Please consider signing. It reads in part:

In our judgment, the demonstrations by water protectors on and near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation have been overwhelmingly peaceful, prayerful, dignified, and reverent.  They have been exercises of the inherent human rights and constitutionally protected rights to freedom of speech and assembly.   Morton County law enforcement has responded with riot police, armored vehicles, pepper spray, lethal weapons, illegal surveillance, illegal strip searches, trumped-up charges, racial profiling, and many other forms of physical violence and abuse designed to repress and intimidate.  Hennepin County has absolutely no place and no right to support such activity with our tax dollars.  We hereby call on all Hennepin County Commissioners and Sheriff Richard Stanek to immediately withdraw all Hennepin County forces from North Dakota.”

Here are a few more helpful links.

The Episcopal Church officially asserts its support for the pipeline protestors, according to Episcopal Cafe.

At its most recent meeting last week, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church adopted a resolution calling on government leaders at the national, state and local levels to “de-escalate military and police provocation” at the site of the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline the territory of the Standing Rock Sioux nation.

City Pages published a story on Hennepin County’s decision to dispatch deputies to Standing Rock.

Over the weekend, as 83 protesters were arrested on charges ranging from rioting to criminal trespass, photographer Donna Brown snapped shots of Hennepin County Sheriff’s vehicles “near” the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.

The photos immediately drew criticism locally. Among those calling for Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek to “withdraw” was Minneapolis City Council Member Alondra Cano, an outspoken critic of the pipeline project.