Chaos Erupts in South Dakota as environmentalist attack police, 141 arrested

CANNON BALL, N.D. – A months-long protest over the Dakota Access oil pipeline reached its most chaotic pitch yet when hundreds of law enforcement officers moved in to force activists off private property.



Thursday's nearly six-hour operation dramatically escalated the dispute over Native American rights and the project's environmental impact, with officers in riot gear firing bean bags and pepper spray.



Donnell Hushka, a spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff's Department, said 141 people were arrested. No serious injuries were reported, though one man was hurt in the leg and received treatment from a medic.



Among those arrested was a woman who pulled out a .38-caliber pistol and fired three times at officers, narrowly missing a sheriff's deputy, according to State Emergency Services spokeswoman Cecily Fong. Officers did not return fire, she said.