Governor Dalrymple Weighs in on DAPL Protests

North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple spoke with KVRR about his thoughts on the recent events at Standing Rock.

Dalrymple says because protesters were trespassing on private land and blocking off state roads, the actions taken by police was necessary.

He says protesters have every right to voice their concerns peacefully, but police cannot allow illegal trespassing and road blocks without responding.

“You know we have to enforce our laws and we’ve made that clear. Again and again we have asked protesters to move to a location where they can protest peacefully without trespassing and it finally reached the point where they refused to do that,” said Gov. Dalrymple.

He says that in the event that protesters returned to the illegal camp, he would expect law enforcement to take action to remove them once again.