Thread by @MorePerfectUS

NEW: Police and sheriffs in Minnesota have been paid more than $500,000 by a foreign corporation, Enbridge Energy, while they surveilled & harassed Indigenous activists opposing the Line 3 pipeline.

The payments came via an escrow account overseen by an ex-deputy police chief.

Enbridge, a Canadian corporation responsible for the largest-ever U.S. inland oil spill, is now building a massive tar sands pipeline through pristine wetland and Indigenous land in Minnesota.

Activists want @POTUS & @SecDebHaaland to cancel the project and #StopLine3.

Enbridge's construction permit established an escrow account that the company uses to pay Minnesota law enforcement for any activity related to the pipeline, including "Public safety related costs for maintaining the peace in and around the construction site."

That means local police can bill Enbridge for any time spent acting against the anti-pipeline activists and water protectors. Activists say this incentivizes the police to spend more time harassing and targeting protestors.
minnesotareformer.com/2021/04/12/enb…

Minnesota police arrested water protectors who gathered on Anishinaabe treaty territory to physically block the construction of the pipeline.

https://twitter.com/HonorTheEarth/status/1375169967545532420

.@JaneFonda and constitutional rights attorney Mara Verheyden-Hilliard filmed their interaction with Minnesota police, heading to a #StopLine3 event.

https://twitter.com/ProtestLaw/status/1371548682563248129

More Line 3 protestors were arrested while praying, at an event mourning the anniversary of the Grand Rapids oil spill.

These are just some of the countless incidences of arrests and harassment the water protectors face at the hands of local police.

.@TheIntercept reported that the Minnesota Sheriff’s Office requested that Enbridge reimburse them for nearly $72K in riot gear and over $10K in “less than lethal” weapons and ammunition, which were described in the request as PPE.
theintercept.com/2021/02/10/pol…

Protestors have not yet seen police deploy the munitions purchased, but it would fit a trend of authorities using brutal force against Indigenous activists.

Local law enforcement spent $38M on a militarized response against Dakota Access pipeline protesters at Standing Rock.