Thursday’s mass arrests came as Native American youth flooded the Hillary Clinton campaign headquarters in Brooklyn to demand Clinton oppose the Dakota Access pipeline. After Clinton campaign staffers declined to meet with the delegation, they attempted to present a letter to security guards. The protesters were later ordered by police to leave or face arrest.
While Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has come out against the pipeline, Clinton has so far refused to take a stance on Dakota Access. In the Clinton campaign’s first statement on the pipeline, spokesperson Tyrone Gayle wrote, in part, “Now, all of the parties involved … need to find a path forward that serves the broadest public interest. As that happens, it’s important that on the ground in North Dakota, everyone respects demonstrators’ rights to protest peacefully, and workers’ rights to do their jobs safely.”
Climate activist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben responded on Twitter, writing, “Hillary Clinton managed to make a statement about the Dakota Pipeline that literally says nothing. Literally.”
