Unicorn Riot closely covered the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock. Our free full-length documentary: Black Snake Killaz: A #NoDAPL Story (2017). See also the DAPL and standing rock tags for coverage.
St Paul, MN — Unicorn Riot’s long legal battle in Minnesota to protect newsgathering materials from attorneys working for Energy Transfer reached yet another phase: The Minnesota Supreme Court released its ruling Wednesday about the subpoena in Hennepin County that has attempted to probe our…
The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued a ruling favoring Unicorn Riot on Monday, May 6, finally rejecting the oil company Energy Transfer LP's attempt to grab newsgathering materials through a subpoena, blunting a three year legal pressure campaign.
Denver, CO — This week is the National Lawyers Guild’s (NLG) annual nationwide campaign called “Week of Abolition” where local NLG law school chapters host events, activities and actions to spread knowledge and promote discussion about “alternatives to the criminal punishment system” with an aim…
Des Moines, IA – Ruby Montoya, admitted Dakota Access Pipeline saboteur, stepped out of a car Wednesday morning in front of the federal courthouse in Des Moines, Iowa, and walked quietly into the building. Her dark hair was pulled back into a low bun and…
Des Moines, IA – Federal prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 96 months in prison for Ruby Montoya, admitted Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) saboteur, which includes a ‘terrorism enhancement’ that could tack years onto her sentence.
In November 2016, on the night of the election…
Washington, DC – Today the United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal brought by Energy Transfer, the energy giant behind the highly contested Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). This means that the existing federal court decision in the case, which found the pipeline was…
Ruby Montoya is doing whatever she can to lighten her punishment after publicly admitting to a string of arson and sabotage attacks against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in 2017.
According to a recent article in The Economist, “Montoya agreed to cooperate with the FBI”…
Iowa City, IA – On August 26, admitted Dakota Access Pipeline saboteur Ruby Montoya filed a motion in federal court seeking to withdraw her guilty plea, claiming she was coerced into signing it by her previous attorneys, movement “leaders”, and her abusive father. The motion…
Des Moines, IA – On Wednesday, June 30, Jessica Reznicek was sentenced to eight years in federal prison after she admitted to sabotaging the widely opposed Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in 2017. Reznicek previously had pleaded guilty to the charge of Conspiracy to Damage an…
Bismarck, ND – On March 3, Steve Martinez was jailed at the Burleigh County Detention Center after refusing to testify before a secret federal grand jury investigating 2016 protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Martinez is now finally free as of April 12, according to…
Bismarck, ND – On Wednesday, March 3, Steve Martinez was arrested and imprisoned at the Burleigh County Detention Center after refusing to testify before a secret federal grand jury. Martinez was an eyewitness to a violent police attack on water protectors against the Dakota Access…
Fargo, ND – After years of ongoing litigation surrounding the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), today District Judge James Boasberg ordered that the pipeline be shut down and emptied of oil within 30 days. Boasberg’s shutdown order is intended to last until the Army Corps…
Bismarck, ND – Red Fawn Fallis, a political prisoner arrested during the movement to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, was sentenced today in federal court by Judge Daniel Hovland. Fallis was sentenced to 57 months (4.75 years) in federal prison. She will receive a credit…
Bismarck, ND – Michael “Little Feather” Giron was sentenced by Chief Judge Daniel Hovland to thirty six months for Civil Disorder charges stemming from the October 27th, 2016 defense of the Oceti Sakowin treaty camp during the #NoDAPL movement.
The treaty camp, erected in the…
Mandan, ND – On January 22nd, 2018, Red Fawn Fallis’s plea agreement was accepted by North Dakota Chief Judge Hovland. The agreement, made between her defense team and federal prosecutors, dropped the most serious charge of “discharge of a firearm in relation to a felony…
Mandan, ND – On Sunday, January 21, the Water Protector Legal Collective announced that attorneys for water protector Michael Markus, known as Rattler, had reached a non-cooperating plea agreement with federal prosecutors. In the deal, Rattler agreed to plead guilty to one charge of Civil…
Mandan, ND – Attorneys for Red Fawn Fallis have announced that they have reached an agreement with government prosecutors in her case, which was set to go to trial later this month on January 28th.
Under the agreement announced on Tuesday, Fallis would plead guilty…
Morton County, ND – A new investigation by DeSmog and Muckrock reveals the behind-the-scenes role played by the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) in crafting narratives for law enforcement tasked with protecting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) from resistance by indigenous peoples and their allies.
Emails…
Des Moines, IA – Unicorn Riot has received a press release from two women claiming responsibility for arson attacks and valve sabotage against the Dakota Access Pipeline. In the video below, these two women from Iowa publicly state their sabotage actions against the Dakota Access…
Washington, DC – Federal judge James Boasberg today partially sided with the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes in their ongoing lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
In December 2016, the Army Corps of…
Dallas, TX – Energy Transfer Partners (who recently completed their official merger with Sunoco Logistics) announced today that the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is now operational, carrying oil from the Bakken shale fields in North Dakota to its end terminal in Patoka, Illinois. This news…
Bismarck, ND – Leaked documents created by military intelligence contractor TigerSwan, recently obtained and published by The Intercept, provide a previously unseen look inside the operations taken by Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) security contractors against the #NoDAPL movement. TigerSwan was contracted to coordinate DAPL security…
UPDATE (May 22, 2017): Since the initial news of its April 4 spill in South Dakota, reports have emerged that the Dakota Access Pipeline spilled twice in North Dakota on March 3 and March 5 of this year. The AP reports:
Bismarck, N.D. – (AP)…
BLACK SNAKE KILLAZ: A #NoDAPL STORY
Synopsis:
Black Snake Killaz is a feature-length documentary film about the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. This film explores actions taken by water protectors to stop the construction of the oil pipeline and highlights actions taken by law…
Omaha, NE – The Omaha World-Herald is reporting that Kyle Kirchmeier, the sheriff of Morton County, North Dakota, is providing consultation services to law enforcement in areas where the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline (KXL) is expected to be built.
Kirchmeier is known for commanding…
