Standing Rock Sioux Want Amy Goodman To Turn Herself In Over Dakota Access Pipeline Arrest Warrant
On September 3, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! was at the Sacred Stone Camp to report on the protest over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) being built through land owned by the federal government containing artifacts by the Sioux Tribe.
It was then that Amy Goodman captured exclusive footage of pipeline security bringing out dogs that started attacking protesters and their horses. Footage shows that some of the dogs were let loose and others were held on leashes by security personnel while they went into the crowds with the dogs. Amy Goodman shows in the video that one of the dogs has blood on its tongue and mouth from an attack. Amy Goodman also provided commentary on the scene.
The footage ended up going viral and was rebroadcast by major media networks. However, on Thursday, September 8, Morton County law enforcement issued a warrant for Amy Goodman’s arrest for trespassing.
On the September 12 broadcast of Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman interviewed the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Dave Archambault II and mentioned the warrant several times during the broadcast, saying that those who did nothing wrong should get their warrant issues settled with law enforcement.
At some point during the program, Amy Goodman said that they were only there to report on the protest and that they were exercising their rights as journalists to report. Dave Archambault then said that there were people there who were committing criminal acts and implied that warrants for their arrest were appropriate. However, if a person who was issued a warrant did nothing wrong, then why not settle the matter with law enforcement?
It was perhaps for time that Amy Goodman cut off the last part of his statement to ask a different question. But as to whether Amy Goodman is following up to get the matter resolved, she said at the beginning of the program that their attorneys were talking with the authorities.
The urgency of the issued warrant was documented by many sources. However, an article written by Amy Goodman on the Democracy Now! site that talks about the warrant for her arrest also refers to the urgency that caused the Sioux tribe to respond to the building of the DAPL.
“Global attention has become focused on the struggle since Labor Day weekend, after pipeline guards unleashed attack dogs and pepper spray on Native American protesters. On that Saturday, at least six bulldozers were carving up the land along the pipeline route, where archaeological and sacred sites had been discovered by the tribe. The Dakota Access Pipeline company obtained the locations of these sites just the day before, in a court filing made by the tribe. Many feel that the company razed the area, destroying the sites, before an injunction could be issued to study them.”
Position: Arrest warrant for Amy Goodman is a clear violation of free press rights and should be dropped immediately https://t.co/OxZ62HgdsN
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) September 14, 2016
The article also refers to the organizations that are standing with Amy Goodman, including Reporters without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). At the end of the article, Amy Goodman says that they will fight the charges.
A more recent article by Vogue about the situation at the Sacred Stone Camp and the warrant for Amy Goodman’s arrest provides a more detailed account of when DAPL security brought out the dogs and attacked protesters.
The article also gives a description of what Democracy Now! does and also reminds readers that Amy Goodman has been arrested before. Green Party nominee Jill Stein and her running mate, Ajamu Baraka, also have warrants for their arrest for being at the same site for vandalizing equipment while showing their solidarity with the protesters.
[Featured Image by James MacPherson/AP Images]
