Here's what one of the officers said, suggesting without irony that the assault on the camp was a defense of nature. (Global warming, air pollution and the threat to water are not ecological disasters?):
“Many months, North Dakota has been faced with this and has been dealing with this day in and day out,” Lieutenant Iverson said. “Today is simply another step forward — moving forward to getting that area cleaned up and making sure that we are avoiding any potential ecological disaster.”And meanwhile, the retrograde oil-bought legislators of North Dakota pass laws that attempt to further criminalize protest and restrict the possibilities for direct action and civil disobedience:
"About an hour after the protest camp was cleared, Mr. Burgum signed into law four bills that had been passed largely as a result of the protests. They expand the scope of criminal trespassing laws, make it illegal to cover your face with a mask or hood while committing a crime, and increase the penalties for riot offenses."And salute to the resistance, who remain defiant:
“Our hearts are not defeated,” Mr. Goldtooth said. “The closing of the camp is not the end of a movement or fight. It is a new beginning. They cannot extinguish the fire that Standing Rock started.”
