MANHATTAN — Dozens of people were arrested Tuesday night during a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Foley Square, police said.
Thirty-eight people were arrested for disorderly conduct and one person was arrested for criminal possession of a weapon at the rally which began at 4 p.m., police said.
Cops making mass arrests here at NYC rally in solidarity with #StandingRock! Protesters did sit-in in the street. #NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/lmdjb1vsrF
— Ash J (@AshAgony) November 15, 2016
Protesters in cities across the country rallied near the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices to pressure President Barack Obama to order the agency to revoke the permits of companies working on the 1,200-mile pipeline, which runs through lands belonging to the Great Sioux Nation.
“The Obama Administration has the power to revoke the permits and stop the pipeline at any time,” organizers wrote on the New York event’s Facebook page.
“We demand that the Obama Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers immediately and permanently cease construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.”
The future of the Dakota Access pipeline is uncertain after the Army Corps decided to temporarily revoke its approval following a two-month-long review, according to an agency statement released on Monday.
The review found that more information is needed on how the pipeline would impact the Great Sioux Nation’s North Dakota territory and water reserve, where protesters have been staging demonstrations since September.
The $3.8 billion pipeline that goes through the Dakotas, Illinois and Iowa is currently under construction and can transport almost 500,000 barrels of oil per day, according to a fact sheet from the builders.
The Great Sioux Nation has opposed the pipeline not only due to environmental concerns but also due to its planned location through the middle of the Black Hills, which the Sioux have long considered the epicenter of their their sacred lands.
