CANNON BALL, N.D.—A SWAT vehicle is ready for use if it becomes necessary to use force to remove the remaining protesters from the now-closed Dakota Access pipeline protest camp on federal land in North Dakota, authorities said Thursday.
American Indian elders have told police there are people willing to resort to drastic measures to stay in the camp that was shut down Wednesday ahead of spring flooding, Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson said. Similar sentiments have been expressed by protesters on social media, Iverson said.
Authorities are prepared for a worst-case “SWAT scenario” should anyone who is armed barricade themselves in a structure in the camp, Iverson said. A Special Weapons and Tactics vehicle was at the scene.
“We’re doing everything we can to avoid that kind of a situation,” he said. “We don’t want it to reach a flash point, but at some point, enough is enough.”
