Woman injured in oil pipeline protest improving

Over 300 of the protesters were injured with 26 rushed to the hospital.

In early June, Sophia Wilansky joined a group of Vermonters who protested the 41-mile Vermont Gas Systems natural gas pipeline to Addison County, said Alex Prolman, of the environmental advocacy group Rising Tide Vermont. In order to complete the pipeline, the company wants to drill under the Missouri River. The movement has remained strong even as temperatures have turned frigid. He accused authorities of purposely hurting protesters to discourage others from joining the demonstrations, which have been ongoing for months.

Gonzalez said the Merced group will support the protest in whatever way it can – such as delivering supplies, cooking and standing on the front lines.

Protesters, who refer to themselves as “water protectors”, have said their effort is peaceful.

However, the Morton County Sheriff’s Office stated authorities didn’t use any concussion grenades and suggested an explosion heard during the skirmish might have been caused by small propane tanks that authorities said protesters had rigged to explode. Sheriff’s spokesman Rob Keller said a tactical vehicle spraying tear gas has been mistaken by some people as a water cannon. Officers say the protestors assaulted officers with rocks, asphalt, water bottles and burning logs.

Perhaps the most alarming story to come out of the weekend clashes, though, was that of 21-year-old Sophia Wilansky, who is at risk of losing her arm after protester organizers say she was struck by a concussion grenade.

She was listed in serious condition Tuesday at a Minneapolis hospital.

The council reported that “grenade pieces … have been removed from her arm in surgery and will be saved for legal proceedings”.

There is still no official timeline for approval of the project.

On Nov. 14, final approval was delayed again for additional consultation.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, sent a letter Monday to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, calling the use of water “excessive and unnecessary” and urging the Justice Department to “prevent further escalation of violence”. It said the delays were part of a “sham process”.

In early November, Lakota Sioux Therese Martin celebrated her 100th birthday in the crowded parish hall at Fort Yates, North Dakota, Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

“Hypothermia, a number of head injuries from being shot with rubber bullets, one individual had a heart attack”, he said. That, too, was seen as a provocation by protesters.

A friend in New York, Becca Berlin, told Grist that Wilansky had been looking for a ride to North Dakota for weeks.

The bridge on state Highway 1806 is near the protesters’ main camp. “Whenever I read about the water protectors at the camps along the Missouri and Cannonball Rivers, I pray they fight to the bitter end”.

According to KFYR, police say protesters were seen running to the area where the explosion had happened.

A Facebook page for the event, Veterans Stand for Standing Rock, has more than 600 confirmed reservations with more than 4,500 other people expressing interest.

Wayne Wilansky denounced the law enforcement tactics, saying “this is not Afghanistan, this is not Iraq”.

“Basically, it’s an act of war”, said Frank Sanchez, a delegate from the Yankton Sioux Tribe, in an interview with The Huffington Post.