Judge axes restraining order against pipeline protesters but blasts unlawful activity

BISMARCK – A federal judge in North Dakota has tossed a restraining order against Dakota Access Pipeline protesters but had harsh words for unlawful and violent protesters who “constitute a very small percentage of the entire entourage.”

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland on Friday dissolved a temporary restraining order against Standing Rock Sioux Tribal officials, including Chairman Dave Archambault II, and others that Dakota Access had sued in federal court.

Dakota Access sought and received a temporary restraining order against seven named defendants and unidentified protesters the pipeline company alleged had “engaged in increasingly obstructionist and dangerous behavior” to prevent pipeline construction.

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/region/4116800-updated-judge-axes-restraining-order-against-pipeline-protesters-blasts-unlawful