Honor the Earth not directly responsible for anti-oil All-Star Game protest, leader says

BEMIDJI -- Although a large anti-oil protest banner unfurled during the All-Star Game on Tuesday used a slogan associated with the activist group Honor the Earth, the protest was not coordinated with the group, its leader said Wednesday.

A banner reading “LOVE WATER NOT OIL” was unfurled during the early part of the game, held Tuesday night in Minneapolis. A Star Tribune report indicated a protester risked serious injury or death by jumping a 7-foot gap between an adjacent parking ramp and Target Field, then scaling a horizontal ladder in order to hang the banner over a video screen in right field.

“Love Water Not Oil” is the title of Honor the Earth’s upcoming horse ride and concert tour in opposition to oil pipelines planned to run through Minnesota. Honor the Earth leader Winona LaDuke, who lives on the White Earth Reservation, said she did not know who unfurled the banner, but she was thankful they did it.

“I have no idea of how that happened,” LaDuke said in an email to the Pioneer. “We are very grateful for the banner, and the courageous and very talented banner dropping individual.”

The unidentified protester had reportedly not been apprehended as of the ninth inning.