Federal Appeals Court Heard Case of Marcus Mitchell, Navajo, Shot in the Eye at Standing Rock

Photo by Erica Crazy Hawk, Crow Creek Lakota

Federal Appeals Court Heard Case of Marcus Mitchell, Navajo, Today Shot in the Eye at Standing Rock

Article by Brenda Norrell, Censored News, Dec. 18, 2025

ST. PAUL, Minnesota -- A federal appeals court heard the excessive force case filed by Marcus Mitchell, Dine'/Navajo, today. Marcus was shot and blinded in his left eye, at Backwater Bridge at Standing Rock, while protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline construction in 2017.

Mitchell's attorney Devi Rao argued that Mitchell was targeted with excessive force by officers and was not posing a threat. Rao said officers began firing without a warning. Mitchell was standing still and was not committing serious crimes when he was fired on.

Attorney Rao told the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that Mitchell continues to suffer after being shot by officers firing 12-gauge shotguns filled with lead-filled bean bags.

"Mr. Mitchell is blind in his left eye. His senses of hearing and smell are irreparably damaged, and he has chronic and debilitating pain on the left side of his face despite many medical procedures," said Rao, an attorney with MacArthur Justice Center.