Crisis: Borderlands

In late February, Unicorn Riot dispatched a small media team intent on learning more about the ongoing border crisis to the desert borderlands of Arizona in the southwest United States. While there, we learned how the new Trump regime’s policies were impacting the local community. …

North Dakota Dismantles #NoDAPL Oceti Camp

Cannon Ball, ND – The water protector camp that for months formed a beachhead against Dakota Access Pipeline construction was destroyed midday Thursday, February 23rd. A combination of law enforcement and military units forced aside the last inhabitants so the remaining structures could be demolished,…

Militarized Force Prepares Eviction of Main #NoDAPL Encampment

Cannonball, ND – After nearly a year of struggling against the Dakota Access Pipeline’s construction underneath the Missouri River, water protectors are now scheduled to be evicted from their main encampment. [Watch our LIVE updates below]
UPDATE Thursday, February 23rd, 11:45AM: Our full report from…

Eviction Threats Loom as Hundreds Remain at #NoDAPL Camps

Oceti Sakowin, ND – On the morning of Thursday, February 16th, Ladonna Brave Bull Allard, Standing Rock tribal member, landowner and founder of Sacred Stone Camp, was served an eviction notice for Sacred Stone Camp by agents of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She reportedly…

Army Corps Grants Easement as Repression Continues at Standing Rock

Cannon Ball, ND – On February 7th, 2017, the Army Corps of Engineers stated its intent to grant an easement to Dakota Access LLC, to cross Lake Oahe with the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The easement is north of the location where tens of thousands…

Minneapolis Police Officer Charged with Two Felonies for Reckless Shooting

Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) Officer Efrem Hamilton has been charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and felony discharge of firearm from a November 19th, 2016 incident where he shot a bullet into a car full of young adults.
For more…

Denver’s #J20 Protests: A Day of Unity, Militance, and Confrontation

Denver, CO – On January 20, 2017, community members organized multiple protests in Denver to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump as President. Unicorn Riot was live throughout the day.
https://vimeo.com/388627363
Around 8 AM, two separately organized protests gathered at the Colorado State Capitol and…

Nebraska Supplied State Troopers, Surveillance Aircraft to North Dakota Under EMAC

Morton County, ND – Documents acquired through a series of public records requests shine light on ongoing out-of-state law enforcement assistance to the Morton County Sheriff and the state of North Dakota in their militarized police operations to protect construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.…

Documents Show Details of Wisconsin EMAC Assistance to Morton County Sheriff

Morton County, ND – In August, North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple declared a State of Emergency in reaction to ongoing direct actions and demonstrations against construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in Morton County, near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal reservation.
Dalrymple’s State of…

Press Conference at Mpls City Hall for Victims of Police Shooting

Minneapolis, MN – On Monday, November 21, a press conference was held at the Minneapolis City Hall in response to an officer-related shooting involving six unarmed young people who were detained overnight for interrogation, and later released with no charges.
“They didn’t catch the people…

#NoDAPL Water Protector Faces Possible Loss Of Her Arm After Police Attack

UPDATED: November 23, 2016 Cannonball, ND – On the November 20th Highway 1806 standoff, police forces injured over 300 unarmed water protectors.
Among those injured was Sophia Wilansky, a 21-year-old from New York, who was attempting to exit the bridge when police fired multiple rounds…

Demonstration in Bismarck-Mandan, Cass County Deputies Beat Man Bloody

Bismarck-Mandan, ND – On Thursday morning, a convoy of water protectors drove from the main Oceti Sakowin encampment to hold demonstrations in the nearby Bismarck-Mandan area.
The caravan first arrived in Mandan, to demonstrate outside a Wells Fargo bank branch demanding Wells Fargo withdraw its…

FEMA Trains Local Police for “Field Force” Crackdowns

Unicorn Riot has obtained a federal training manual, Field Force Operations, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP). The federal government uses this document to train local law enforcement in techniques for quelling protests. It was acquired during our reporting on…

DAPL Construction Nears US Army Corps Land While Still Lacking Permits

Oceti Sakowin, ND – Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) within Morton County, North Dakota is almost complete. The pipeline has now reportedly progressed to within half a mile of land owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which would require permits that…

Police Attack #NoDAPL Water Protectors Defending Sacred Sites

Oceti Sakowin, ND – Since last Thursday’s violent police raid, which established a militarized zone around Dakota Access Pipeline construction areas, the Morton County Sheriff and supporting agencies have fanned out into the area surrounding the Oceti Sakowin camp.
Groups of police vehicles have parked…

Police & Military Attack Oceti Sakowin Treaty Camp

Morton County, ND – Over two hundred multi-state law enforcement and National Guard personnel attacked water protectors gathered on unceded 1851 Oceti Sakowin treaty land just north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in the late morning of Thursday, October 27th.
Updated on Nov. 1,…

Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Hosts District Attorney Candidate Forums

Denver, CO – The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition has been hosting District Attorney Candidate Forums, designed to offer the communities directly impacted by the District Attorney’s office, an opportunity to ask questions relevant to their most pressing issues.
“The District Attorney is arguably the…

Records Release: Morton County’s Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Assistance Agreement

Morton County, ND – Various law enforcement agencies from North Dakota and several other states have sent officers and equipment to support operations led by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department against #NoDAPL water protectors.
Earlier this month, Unicorn Riot spoke over the phone with Stutsman…

As DAPL Construction Advances, Water Protectors Continue Direct Action

IA, RI, ND – As construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) continues, water protectors are regularly engaging in direct actions in attempts to halt the progress of the pipeline. Simultaneously, during the week of October 17th, solidarity actions have been held in several states…

Water Protectors Blockade Highway in Bismarck, Some Charges Dropped

Bismarck-Mandan, ND – Around noon on Monday, a group of over 100 water protectors from the pipeline resistance encampments converged to blockade the Memorial Bridge, a piece of highway connecting the cities of Bismarck and Mandan.

Happening now: water protectors block highway bridge between Bismarck…

Emails Show North Dakota Budget Bureaucracy Behind #NoDAPL Policing

Bismarck, ND – Emails acquired by Unicorn Riot via public records request to the North Dakota Office of Budget and Management allow a small glimpse into the behind-the-scenes working of the state government around the date of a permitted protest rally against the Dakota Access…