Line 3 pipeline protesters gather again at Minnesota Capitol

Rebecca Omastiak

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A law enforcement presence was in place for a time at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Friday as protesters continued calling on officials to stop the progress of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline.

Protesters have been calling on state and federal leaders to stop the pipeline’s progress as part of the four-day "Treaties not Tar Sands Rally to Stop Line 3" at the capitol.

A KSTP crew at the scene captured video of the gathering Friday at about 12:30 p.m.

One rally attendee said law enforcement had broken up a ceremony that was taking place on the capitol’s lawn.

"We’re just trying to save Mother Earth, and all of our children, their children too," the attendee said.

Members of law enforcement could be seen standing and holding batons. Yellow state patrol tape had been strung up as well.

Rally attendees were also working to take down a remaining tipi that had been erected on the capitol lawn. The Minnesota State Patrol reported all the tipis that were erected during the permitted events this week were removed Thursday, except for the one. That event permit expired Thursday evening.

The KSTP crew at the scene reported two people were taken into custody. The Minnesota State Patrol gave an update later Friday reporting four people were arrested for misdemeanor trespassing and two were cited for obstruction, then released.

Roughly an hour after the KSTP crew arrived at the scene, an organizer announced rally attendees had reached an agreement with law enforcement and that the interrupted ceremony was expected to continue.

The gathering Friday came after a series of events at the capitol this week, including a march on Wednesday. The state patrol reported several other permitted events are planned for Saturday as well.

All demonstrators had left the Capitol grounds by 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Opponents of the new Line 3 say the heavy oil that would move through the pipeline would accelerate climate change and risk spills in lakes, wetlands and streams where Native Americans harvest wild rice, hunt, fish and claim treaty rights.

Meanwhile, Enbridge said it has spent over $287 million on the project with tribal nations, citizens, communities and contractors, and has created thousands of jobs as well as millions in local spending and tax revenues. The company also noted the Minnesota Court of Appeals recently determined "the commission reasonably selected a route for the replacement pipeline based upon respect for tribal sovereignty, while minimizing environmental impacts."