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About 2 dozen arrested so far in protest camp

Posted at 1:16 PM, Feb 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-23 13:16:23-05

CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) — About two dozen Dakota Access pipeline opponents have been arrested so far for remaining in a protest camp in North Dakota in defiance of orders to leave.

An adviser to North Dakota’s governor, Levi Bachmeier, also says no one in the camp has taken advantage of a bus offered by the state to transport protesters to a transition center in Bismarck. They can avoid criminal charges and get basic necessities there, along with hotel and bus vouchers.

Most protesters left peacefully Wednesday when authorities closed the camp on Army Corps of Engineers land in advance of spring flooding, but some remained overnight.

National Guard soldiers and dozens of officers entered the camp shortly before midday Thursday, shortly after police said Corps officials had met with camp leaders. They didn’t divulge the outcome of the talks.