The Squad visited Bemidji on Labor Day Weekend to protest the Line 3 pipeline that is nearing completion. Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-05-MN), Cori Bush (D-01-MO), Ayanna Pressley (D-07-MA), Rashida Tlaib (D-13-MI), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-14-NY), who was “with them in spirit,” visited Minnesota to express their displeasure with the Enbridge Pipeline.
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The ‘Squad’ Visits Bemidji to Protest Line 3 in Minnesota
The Squad visited Bemidji on Labor Day Weekend to protest the Line 3 pipeline that is nearing completion. Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-05-MN), Cori Bush (D-01-MO), Ayanna Pressley (D-07-MA), Rashida Tlaib (D-13-MI), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-14-NY), who was “with them in spirit,” visited Minnesota to express their displeasure with the Enbridge Pipeline.
Read MoreMinnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar Asks Biden Admin for ‘Urgent Intervention’ in Line 3 Pipeline
Representative Ilhan Omar (D-05-MN) wrote a letter to the Biden Administration asking for “urgent intervention” regarding the Line 3 pipeline that has been under construction for months. Omar says that there have been “concerning violations of treaty rights” in the recent weeks.
Read MoreDemonstrators Build Teepee, Have Ceremonial Fire During Line 3 Protest at Minnesota Capitol
Demonstrators at the Minnesota capitol erected teepees and reportedly burned a ceremonial fire during a Stop Line 3 protest. Protesters had been occupying capitol grounds until Friday evening, despite their event permit being up Thursday evening at 10:00 p.m.
Read MoreLine 3 Activists in Minnesota Get Restraining Order Against Hubbard County Sheriff
Stop Line 3 activists have gotten a restraining order against Hubbard County Sheriff Cory Aukes after activist Winona LaDuke was arrested last week during a protest.
LaDuke is the leader of Honor the Earth, an environmental group that has been protesting Line 3.
Read MoreLeader of Honor the Earth Environmental Group Arrested in Minnesota While Protesting Line 3
Winona LaDuke, the leader of the Honor the Earth environmental group was arrested along with six other women while protesting the Line 3 pipeline. As was reported on WCCO, three of the arrested water protectors “locked down one of Enbridge’s drills on Tuesday morning, halting drilling under the Shell River.” The women are facing trespassing charges. These arrests bring the total number of protesters arrested to over 600.
Read MoreLine 3 Protesters Bailed Out of Jail with Thousands in Cash
According to Hubbard County Sheriff Cory Aukes, many of the over 300 Line 3 protesters they have arrested have been bailed out by people bringing in bags of cash. Aukes said, “Time and time again, a protester makes a phone call and someone shows up with a duffel bag full of cash to bail them out. A bag full of $100 bills; in fact, $52,000 on one occasion. That is a lot of cash to be carrying around in a duffel bag.”
Read MoreMore Line 3 Protesters Arrested over the Weekend
Anti-Line 3 protests have continued as the project has been given a go-ahead by Minnesota government. Last weekend, 31 more protesters were arrested after they were blocking a highway and chaining themselves to equipment on an active work site.
Read MoreNative American Owned Construction Business Equipment Vandalized to ‘Support Native Americans’
A Native American man who owns a construction company, Gordon Construction, spoke out against those who destroyed his equipment and claimed to speak for Native Americans. Matt Gordon, a Native American, owns one of the construction companies contracted to help finish the Line 3 project, a pipeline carrying oil from Canada into the United States.
Read MoreMinnesota Court of Appeals Give Go Ahead for Line 3 Restoration
The Minnesota Court of Appeals voted 2-1 on Monday to continue with the Line 3 replacement project, despite protests drawing over 1,000 people. Judge Lucinda Jesson stated that, “With an existing, deteriorating pipeline carrying crude oil through Minnesota, there was no option without environmental consequences.”
Read MoreAlmost 250 Arrested at Line 3 Protest in Northern Minnesota
The Northern Lights Task Force in Minnesota arrested several people protesting Line 3 last weekend. Comments on social media led officers to believe that the protesters would be trying to confront law enforcement, leading to the arrest of up to 1,000 people.
The Northern Lights Task Force said in an official statement, “Many protesters did not abide by the law and engaged in actions that forced the hand of law enforcement and dispersal orders were given.”
Read MoreNew Hampshire Activists Coming to Minnesota to Protest Line 3
Activists from out of state will be coming to Minnesota to protest the Line 3 pipeline. On a Facebook post from Minnesotans for Line 3, they write that “Minnesota will soon be hosting some visitors in early June, including Chris Balch from New Hampshire.”
According to the Monadnock Ledger, “Chris Balch of Wilton and Kai Parlett of Manchester are among New Hampshire residents who are making the trip to Northern Minnesota on the weekend of June 5 to participate in the ongoing protests against the construction of the pipeline.”
Read MoreU.S. Army Corp of Engineers Grants Enbridge Final Permit for Line 3
The U.S Army Corp of Engineers (ACE) on Monday issued Enbridge its final federal construction permit for its $2.6 billion Line 3 oil pipeline.
Calgary-based Enbridge could begin construction as early as next month, a project expected to create 4,200 construction jobs and inject millions of dollars into Northern Minnesota.
Read MoreRepublicans Criticize Enbridge Protests as ‘Elaborate Fundraising Opportunity’
The protest group “Stop Line 3” blocked the entrance to Enbridge’s Clearbrook office during a Monday demonstration and asked for “generous donations” to its cause.
Read MoreEnbridge Protesters Chain Themselves to Entrance of Company’s Bemidji Office
More than 50 protesters, six of whom chained themselves to a pair of gates, blockaded the entrances to an Enbridge office in Bemidji Monday morning.
Read MoreAdvocates and Protesters Agree Controversial Line 3 Pipeline Requires Repair
by Bethany Blankley Canadian-based energy company Enbridge’s largest project, Line 3, received another setback after the Minnesota’s Appeals Court reversed the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) 2018 approval. The organization that represents the maintenance workers for the pipeline, LIUNA (Laborers’ International Union of North America), is not overly concerned with…
Read MoreCourt Orders Portion of Line 3 Pipeline Environmental Impact Statement to Return to Minnesota Public Utility Commission for Reconsideration
The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday overturned a portion of the environmental impact study of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project. The court’s ruling is available here. The ruling says: Although we reject most of realtors’ assertions of error, we agree that the FEIS is inadequate…
Read MoreSt. Paul’s Black Dog Cafe Regularly Hosts Trump Resistance Groups for Political Events
St. Paul’s popular Black Dog Cafe regularly hosts resistance groups formed in response to President Donald Trump’s 2016 election for political events. A collection of groups calling themselves “The MNLeg Coalition” meet once a month for a “Third Thursdays” event that provides the “progressive-values loving community” a chance to “come…
Read MoreMinnesota GOP Has Harsh Words for Walz After Pipeline Appeal: ‘This Is a Big Mistake’
Republican members of the Minnesota House and Senate called a joint press conference earlier this week to condemn Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) decision to re-appeal the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline replacement project. “The science is sure that this would be environmentally much safer to replace a 51-year-old pipe with a…
Read MoreYouth Activists Call for ‘Minnesota Green New Deal,’ Pressure Walz to Petition Line 3
Several youth activism organizations gathered at the Minnesota Capitol Monday to protest the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline and call for a “Minnesota Green New Deal.” “We are changing the political landscape in Minnesota and although there is much more work to be done, we are so proud of what we…
Read MoreWalz Joins ‘Extreme Environmentalists’ in Petitioning Line 3 Project
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) announced Tuesday morning that he would refile an appeal against the controversial Enbridge Line 3 replacement project. Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) unanimously approved of granting Enbridge a certificate of need to move forward with the project last summer. But former Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN) made…
Read MoreProfessors Call Line 3 Pipeline ‘Science Denial’ During Protest at the Minnesota Capitol
Climate activists are continuing to pressure Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) against approving Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement pipeline, and on Thursday protested in the governor’s reception room of the Minnesota State Capitol. In November, the Public Utilities Commission unanimously voted in favor of green lighting the project, but former Gov. Mark…
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