10 pipeline protesters face disorderly conduct trial

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Ten people charged with disorderly conduct during protests of the Dakota Access pipeline are the first to face trial.

A joint misdemeanor trial is scheduled Monday for 10 people arrested Aug. 11 after they allegedly pushed through law enforcement lines or police tape to access a construction site.

The Bismarck Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2hKWXJZ ) prosecutors are asking that issues of tribal sovereignty be kept out of the trial, but defense attorneys say their clients have a right to explain why they were there. The judge has yet to rule on that.

It’s the first trial tied to pipeline protests. The defendants are from nine states, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon and Hawaii.

The Morton County Sheriff’s Department says more than 570 people have been arrested in connection with the protests.

___

Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com