Fourth Week of DAPL Trial Ends With Testimony From DOJ Witness
BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — A Department of justice witness testifies that during the eight-month long DAPL protests, the DOJ believed sending federal law enforcement to assist North Dakota would escalate and destabilize the situation.
Patrick Hornbuckle’s comments were made in a video deposition in the fourth week of the trial of North Dakota vs. United States.
The state is trying to recoup $38 million it spent to police protests in 2016 and 2017 over the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline south of Mandan.
The state claims the Obama administration ignored requests for assistance.
“This week’s witnesses made the truth painstakingly obvious: the Obama regime ignored North Dakota’s requests for assistance while actively working against promoting law and order,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer. “Bureaucrats like Jo-Ellen Darcy chose willful ignorance because the truth didn’t fit the narrative pushed by the administration. The media and popular narrative surrounding the protests is so far from reality it’s almost funny, and the testimony from this trial is finally correcting the DAPL fiction pushed by liberals.”
Day 10 of the trial featured testimony from several witnesses including Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy.
Throughout Darcy’s testimony on Monday, she frequently used the response, “I do not recall.”
The trial is expected to wrap up at the end of next week.
