DAPL Protester May Lose Arm After Explosion at Protest Site

The father of a 21-year-old woman from New York says his daughter was seriously hurt while protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline on Sunday.

Wayne Wilansky says 21-year-old Sophia Wilansky is having a second surgery on a damaged arm at a Minneapolis hospital and might lose the arm.

She is in serious condition.

He says his daughter told him she saw a law enforcement officer throw an object at her that exploded.

But law enforcement investigators say that isn’t the case.

They found one pound propane cylinders, including one that appeared to be intentionally punctured and Molotov cocktails near where the blast occurred.

“And even though she’s lying there with her arm pretty much blown off, she’s focused on the fact that it’s not about her,” said Wayne Wilansky. “It’s about what we’re doing to our country, what we’re doing to our Native peoples, what we’re doing to our environment.”

Sophia, 21, is a recent Williams College graduate.

If you would like to donate to her care, click here.

A GoFundMe account set up for Wilansky raised nearly $200,000 in just 18 hours.