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| Police attack water protectors clear north camp on Oct. 27, 2016. Screenshot by Censored News |
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| Police attack Standing Rock water protectors with tear gas and batons, Oct. 27, 2016. Screenshot by Censored News, video by Unicorn Riot media. |
'The Perfect Storm' was the perfect human rights disaster
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, March 23, 2024
"In South Dakota -- when we went to South Dakota Colonel Gerhart was with."
Kirchmeier and the National Sheriffs Association
Q Was he not one of the folks who was involved initially, though?
Kirchmeier: "Yes, he was. He was the -- the president of the North Dakota Sheriff's Association at the time, and I contacted him in reference to assistance, you know, from the association and from the other counties."
Q: "So you said August 10 was the beginning of your law enforcement response. Can you estimate for me how soon after August 10 it was that you asked Sheriff Laney and his associations be involved?"
Kirchmeier: "That would have been -- I think it was on Saturday is when I called him."
In the current federal case, North Dakota v. U.S., the state claims it did not have enough law enforcement at Standing Rock. The state is seeking $38 million from the federal government, claiming the U.S. agents and agencies failed to do their job. The massive law enforcement buildup included sheriffs deputies brought in from throughout the nation by the National Sheriffs Association, state highway patrol, a U.S. Border Patrol drone, the National Guard, and other state and federal officers and agents. The president of the National Sheriffs Association was in southern Louisiana and his community was posed for gain from the end of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Kirchmeier Behind the Scenes
Kirchmeier testified that Morton County Sheriffs Department doesn't deal in Treaties.
Kirchmeier -- "The -- yeah, I've heard that. And we -- you know, and we had -- not that I had discussions on it, but I was asked, but I said, We don't deal -- the -- the - on the county level or the state level we don't deal in treaties, you know."
Kirchmeier's E-mail Hacked
Casey Camp's testimony was before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Jamaica, on the militarized law enforcement, and excessive force of law enforcement, at Standing Rock. Casey was on the panel with panel organizer Michelle Cook, Dine', Leoyla Cowboy, Dine', and Ofelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham, who testified on the militarization of her homeland, the Tohono O'odham Nation, at the border. Censored News provided live coverage from Jamaica.
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, March 23, 2024
In the typical "good ole boy" style, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier claims he was honoring water protectors rights to free speech, and just trying to keep the peace, in his deposition in the current case, North Dakota v. United States of America.
Kirchmeier, however, also reveals that only a couple of his sheriff's deputies were trained in the use of less-than lethal weapons. He also reveals that among the first people that he called on for backup was Paul Laney, president of the North Dakota's National Sheriffs Association.
Kirchmeier also says they don't deal in Treaties at the Sheriffs Department.
It comes as no surprise that Energy Transfer offered from the beginning to pay off the cops.
Kirchmeier's 'Perfect Storm' Speaking Tour
Kirchmeier went on a speaking tour after Standing Rock, and titled his talks, "The Perfect Storm." He described it as the perfect storm that starts out slow and gets bigger. During his speeches, Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney, who also was hed of the state's National Sheriffs Association, and Col. Michael Gerhart of the North Dakota Highway Patrol were sometimes with him.
"I was out in Montana, in Utah, in Wyoming, in Oregon. That's what I can think of right now. Colorado, South Dakota."
During his deposition, the first of two in this case, Kirchmeier attempts to describe his efforts as a sort of peace mission, and does not reveal the horrific abuse of water protectors, or describe the critical injuries when water protectors were fired on lead-filled bean bags, rubber bullets, and canisters.
Morton County Caged Women in the Basement
Casey Camp-Horinek, Ponca grandmother, described the abuse when water protectors were dragged out of ceremony and arrested, during her testimony to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Jamaica in 2019.
"They zip-tied us," Casey testified. "They put us on the ground and hauled us in buses to the basement of the Morton County Jail and imprisoned us in dog cages, after they wrote numbers on our arms like the Jews going to gas chambers. We were kept in dog cages on the bare cement floor. That was my number. Number 138."
'Busloads' of Lakota Arriving at Camp Sounded an Alarm
"They are sending buses from Cheyenne River and Oglala Lakota."
The depositions in the current federal case reveal that law enforcement scrambled and prepared to send law enforcement in mid-August of 2016, when water protectors announced that "busloads" of Lakota were headed to the camp to blockade Dakota Access Pipeline.
Joye Braun would have likely been so happy to know how she shook up all those agencies, from the governor to Washington, with every statement she put out, and every tipi that went up in the spring and summer of 2016, as the camps grew. Joye, Cheyenne River Lakota, was the first to set up her tipi and urged others to join her. She passed to the Spirit World in 2022.
It was on August 10, 2016, that everything changed, according to Kirchmeier's deposition, and he realized the movement wasn't going away.
Joye and LaDonna Brave Bull Allard posted an article on that day, August 10, 2016, and the world began to swirl.
“The notice from Dakota Access Pipeline to start construction in 48 hours is a blow to the people of Standing Rock. We keep praying for the water and land. We are searching for every avenue through prayer to defeat this Black Snake. Please remember water is life," said Ladonna Brave Bull Allard, landowner and director of Camp of the Sacred Stones. Ladonna passed to the Spirit World in 2021.
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| Photo courtesy Joye Braun, Censored News https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2016/08/spirit-camp-warriors-stand-in-path-of.html |
Kirchmeier and the National Sheriffs Association
The National Sheriffs Association brought in deputies from throughout the nation, and it was responsible for the massive buildup of law enforcement.
In August of 2016, just as the camps were beginning to grow, and block access to the pipeline's heavy equipment, Kirchmeier called on the state's head of the sheriff's association.
Question -- "Was Paul Laney ever involved?"
Kirchmeier -- "Yes"
Q Was he not one of the folks who was involved initially, though?
Kirchmeier: "Yes, he was. He was the -- the president of the North Dakota Sheriff's Association at the time, and I contacted him in reference to assistance, you know, from the association and from the other counties."
Q: "So you said August 10 was the beginning of your law enforcement response. Can you estimate for me how soon after August 10 it was that you asked Sheriff Laney and his associations be involved?"
Kirchmeier: "That would have been -- I think it was on Saturday is when I called him."
Kirchmeier Behind the Scenes
During his deposition, Kirchmeier describes a meeting with Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault at the tribal council chambers, and a meeting with the BIA in its mobile command center parked out Standing Rock's Prairie Knight Casino. He also refers to the law enforcement command centers and tactical operations center of law enforcement at Morton County Sheriff's office and other locations.
In the deposition, there is no mention of TigerSwan, the mercenaries hired by Energy Transfer, to head up security and surveillance beginning in September of 2016, and who were involved in the command strategy meetings. The state of North Dakota regulatory board later ruled that TigerSwan worked in North Dakota without a license. Whistleblowers revealed to The Intercept that TigerSwan had informants in the camps at Standing Rock and in Iowa.
'We Don't Deal in Treaties'
Kirchmeier testified that Morton County Sheriffs Department doesn't deal in Treaties.
Question -- "And are you aware that some protesters voiced the belief that as a matter of tribal sovereignty the land north of the Cannonball River was unceded under the treaties of Fort Laramie?"
Kirchmeier -- "The -- yeah, I've heard that. And we -- you know, and we had -- not that I had discussions on it, but I was asked, but I said, We don't deal -- the -- the - on the county level or the state level we don't deal in treaties, you know."
Kirchmeier on Black Lives Matter
Question -- "And so, I guess, I mean, people were -- were using Sioux County as a base for illegal activity as as well, right?"
Kirchmeier -- "That is correct. And I -- I think this turned into more -- there was more factions there, like Black Lives Matter, like -- I can't think of the other ones, but there's, you know, a half a dozen different factions type things that were -- people -- individuals that -- that came to camp."
Kirchmeier reveals that Energy Transfer offered to pay law enforcement.
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Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier deposition, April 29, 2022 |
Kirchmeier's E-mail Hacked
Kirchmeier, however, reveals that not everyone was a fan. In November of 2016, he said he lost control of his e-mail account at the sheriff's department, when it was somehow taken over, and he had to use his personal e-mail account for a while.
Clearing the Camps
Kirchmeier described clearing the camps.
Kirchmeier described clearing the camps.
"There's only two occasions, you know, that those camps were cleared, and that was on -- one was on October 27th when the north camp was -- was cleared and then when we get into February when the Seven Councils was cleared on the Morton side. The other two, BIA and -- was responsible for on the Sioux County side, so we weren't involved in those."
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| Casey Camp-Horinek, Ponca grandmother, was in ceremony when she and others were dragged out and arrested on Oct. 27, 2016. |
The Avenger Missile Launcher
Law enforcement in the current federal case revealed that this Avenger Missile launcher was used at Standing Rock because of its unique surveillance capabilities for intelligence gathering on water protectors.
Reference:
Casey Camp's testimony was before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Jamaica, on the militarized law enforcement, and excessive force of law enforcement, at Standing Rock. Casey was on the panel with panel organizer Michelle Cook, Dine', Leoyla Cowboy, Dine', and Ofelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham, who testified on the militarization of her homeland, the Tohono O'odham Nation, at the border. Censored News provided live coverage from Jamaica.
Read more:
New Series at Censored News!
New! FBI had 10 informants at Standing Rock, testimony of FBI agent Jacob O'Connell, Censored News
New! FBI Agent reveals informants reported rumors and third-hand information on water protectors at Standing Rock, deposition in North Dakota v. U.S.
Read more:
New! FBI had 10 informants in Standing Rock camp. FBI supervisor at Standing Rock reveals daily operations of the FBI in water protectors camps.
New! BIA top cop can't dodge questions in court deposition:
BIA head of law enforcement in Washington reveals BIA's role at Standing Rock during water protectors resistance, by Censored News
New! FBI Special Agent reveals informants reported rumors and third-hand information on water protectors at Standing Rock, deposition in North Dakota v. U.S.
New! U.S. Marshals requested its secretive Special Operations Group be deployed to Standing Rock camps, but the request was denied. SOG led the attacks at Wounded Knee with tanks and snipers firing from helicopters.
New! The Kirchmeier File at Standing Rock: The 'Perfect Storm' was the perfect human rights disaster. Morton County Sheriff's first deposition in current case.
New! Morton County Sheriff reported bogus crimes, that there was no evidence of, to President Elect Trump, urging him to shut down the camps. After taking office, federal agents and law enforcement violently raided and cleared the camps. Morton County Sheriff's second deposition in current case.
The Intercept -- FBI informant Heath Harmon, Three Affiliated Tribes, owned the gun at the center of FBI case: It resulted in a nearly five year prison sentence for Red Fawn Fallis, Lakota:
The Guardian -- Wilansky may lose her arm
Marcus Mitchell Dine' (Navajo) Shot in the Eye, Interrogated in Hospital
In a case now before the federal court -- Marcus Mitchell, Dine' (Navajo) was shot in his eye by a shotgun fired by law enforcement at Standing Rock in the early hours of January 18, 2017, at Backwater Bridge. After he was shot, militarized law enforcement threw him on the ground and he felt like he was drowning in his own blood. After waking from surgery, he had to endure questioning by law enforcement in the hospital.
In a case now before the federal court -- Marcus Mitchell, Dine' (Navajo) was shot in his eye by a shotgun fired by law enforcement at Standing Rock in the early hours of January 18, 2017, at Backwater Bridge. After he was shot, militarized law enforcement threw him on the ground and he felt like he was drowning in his own blood. After waking from surgery, he had to endure questioning by law enforcement in the hospital.
Copyright Brenda Norrell, Censored News. Content may not be used without written permission.
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