Opponents of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline say a judge has granted a temporary restraining order.
The judge has ordered Hubbard County law enforcement to cease blockading a protesters’ encampment, the Namewag Camp, and to stop issuing citations.
It came on another day of protests Friday that prompted officials to close an eight-mile stretch of Highway 32 between Thief River Falls and St. Hilaire in Pennington County.
State Patrol officials say they shut down the highway because there were a lot of vehicles on the roadway and it was difficult to ensure safety for the traveling public.
In an event held Sunday near Park Rapids as part of the Red Road to DC, a cross-country totem pole tour highlighting Indigenous sacred sites at risk due to infrastructure projects, tribal members from the Red Lake Nation and other tribes called on President Biden to shut down Line 3.
“The Trump administration railroaded the permitting process and allowed the pipeline construction to proceed despite state findings about the devastating environmental impacts,” said Sasha Beaulieu, founder of the Red Lake Treaty Camp who was hired by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa to monitor Enbridge’s construction.
“President Biden must take immediate action to stop construction and require a full, federal environmental impact statement. Every day that passes is a violation of our treaty rights.”
Opponents claim the pipeline threatens the waterways within the 1855 Treaty territory, where Ojibwe people have the right to hunt, fish, and gather.
