BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Police in Bismarck made more than 30 arrests when opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline protested at a busy mall on Black Friday.
Authorities say protesters gathered for a prayer at Kirkwood Mall, and some refused to leave the entrance to a Target store when ordered to leave the private property.
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is one the busiest shopping days of the year.
The $3.8 billion pipeline is to carry North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others fear it will threaten the tribe’s drinking water and American Indian cultural sites.
Pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners disputes that and says the pipeline will be safe.