Veterans Return To Standing Rock To Shield Protesters From Police

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US veterans have returned to Standing Rock, vowing to shield indigenous protesters and activists opposed to the Dakota Access pipeline from attacks by a militarized police force.

The growing group of military veterans are willing to put their bodies between Native American activists and the police who are trying to remove them.

The veterans are gathering in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, with more still on their way.

Press TV reports:

Army veterans from across the US have either arrived in Cannon Ball area of the northern state of North Dakota, or are currently en route after press reports that President Donald Trump’s administration has allowed the oil corporation to finish drilling across the Missouri river, the UK-based Guardian reported Saturday.

According to the report, the increasing inflow of the military veterans into the area may make it more difficult for police and government authorities in their efforts to remove hundreds of activists, who remain camped near the construction site amid hopes that the move will limit the use of excessive force by police officers during protest rallies.

Vets tent at Standing Rock
The veterans camp at Standing Rock. Photograph: Sam Levin for the Guardian

“We are prepared to put our bodies between Native elders and a privatized military force,” said a 34-year-old air force veteran, Elizabeth Williams, who arrived at Standing Rock along with a group of vets late on Friday. “We’ve stood in the face of fire before. We feel a responsibility to use the skills we have.”

This is while another 66-year-old veteran identified as Dan Luker, who visited Standing Rock in December and returned this month, stated that for many of the vets, who went to war in Vietnam or the Middle East it was “healing” to help water protectors.

“This is the right war, right side,” added Luker, a Vietnam vet from Boston. “Finally, it’s the US military coming on to Sioux land to help, for the first time in history, instead of coming on to Sioux land to kill natives.”

Luker further insisted that he was prepared to be struck by police ammunition if necessary saying, “I don’t want to see a twentysomething, thirtysomething untrained person killed by the United States government.”

According to the report, it remains unclear how many vets may arrive in Standing Rock, though some organizers estimate a few dozen are on their way, while other activists state that hundreds could show up in the coming weeks.

An estimated 1,000 veterans traveled to Standing Rock in December just as the Obama administration announced it was denying a key permit to the oil company, a major victory for the tribe.