Enbridge-funded state account has paid over $4.8M for Line 3 policing costs

Enbridge has doled out about $4.8 million to cover policing and public safety costs related to construction of its new Line 3 across northern Minnesota - and the final tab will be higher.

Meanwhile, courts in counties along the pipeline's route are clogged with hundreds of cases involving protesters. Several have been charged with felony theft for chaining themselves to pipeline construction equipment.

The felony theft charges, which have been levied in several counties, are prosecutorial overkill, said Joshua Preston, an attorney representing at least 35 defendants. "They are intended to have a chilling effect - to discourage people from engaging in protest."

https://www.startribune.com/enbridge-funded-state-account-has-paid-over-4-5m-for-line-3-policing-costs/600135174/