Police, protesters clash in oil pipeline protest

This is an aerial view of the Oceti Sakowin camp in Morton County, N.D. taken Feb. 19, 2017. Authorities began the removal of protesters opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) from the camp on Feb. 22 2017, after the expiration of an evacuation deadline ordered by state and federal authorities.

A couple embraces as opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline leave their main protest camp on Feb. 22, 2017, near Cannon Ball, N.D., as authorities were preparing to shut down the camp in advance of spring flooding season.

Campers set structures on fire in preparation of the Army Corp's 2pm deadline to leave the Oceti Sakowin protest camp, Wednesday, in Cannon Ball, N.D,. Activists and protesters have occupied the Standing Rock Sioux reservation for months in opposition to the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

A man who did not want to be identified loads a teepee canvas to his vehicle as he leaves the Dakota Access pipeline opponents' main protest camp Wednesday.

Campers prepare for the Army Corp's 2pm deadline to leave the Oceti Sakowin protest camp.

O'Shea Spencer, 20, stands in front of the remains of a hogan structure. Campers set structures on fire in preparation of the Army Corp's 2pm deadline to leave the Oceti Sakowin protest camp.

Smoke billows as Dakota Access pipeline opponents burn structures in their main protest camp.

A camper dons a thermal blanket as Oceti Sakowin structures are set ablaze before the 2pm deadline for campers to vacate.

Mud swallows the feet of a Oceti Sakowin camper as the Army Corp's prepares to close the area. Activists and protesters have occupied the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in opposition to the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

A fire burns in the background as opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline leave their main protest camp Wednesday, near Cannon Ball, N.D., as authorities were preparing to shut down the camp in advance of spring flooding season.

Dakota Access pipeline opponents burn structures in their main protest camp in southern North Dakota near Cannon Ball, N.D., Feb. 22, 2017, as authorities prepare to shut down the camp in advance of spring flooding season.

Dakota Access pipeline opponents burn structures in their main protest camp in southern North Dakota near Cannon Ball, N.D., Feb. 22, 2017, as authorities prepare to shut down the camp in advance of spring flooding season.

Refuse remains in the Dakota Access pipeline opponents' main protest camp as a fire burns in the background in southern North Dakota near Cannon Ball, N.D., on Feb. 22, 2017.

One of the many structures at the Dakota Access pipeline main protest camp in southern North Dakota near Cannon Ball, N.D., Feb. 22, 2017.

Charlotte Saxton and her father Robert both from Bemidji, MN, watch a sunset in the Oceti Sakowin Camp Dec. 5, 2016 near Cannon Ball ND.

Cash Jackson leads other veterans in a march on the highway 1806 bridge north of the Oceti Sakowin Camp near Cannon Ball Dec. 5, 2016. Officials had been staffing the bridge full time but have said they are going to cut back.

Despite high winds and snowfall campers in the Oceti Sakowin Camp made the best of it and skied down Media Hill on Dec. 5, 2016 near Cannon Ball.

Despite blizzard conditions, military veterans march in support of the "water protectors" at Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on Dec. 5, 2016 outside Cannon Ball, N.D.

Military veterans huddle together to hold a United States flag against strong winds during a march to a closed bridge outside the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D. Dec. 5, 2016.

Karl McCartney, an Arrow Lakes Okanogan Native American from Omak, Wash., cleans snow out from his tent after a storm blew through the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D. Dec. 5, 2016.

Native dancers perform during a veterans march on the highway 1806 bridge north of the Oceti Sakowin Camp Dec. 5, 2016 near Cannon Ball. Officials had been staffing the bridge full time but have said they are going to cut back.

Veterans walk down flag row in the Oceti Sakowin Camp near the Standing Rock Reservation on Dec. 4, 2016, near Cannon Ball.

Fireworks go off in the Oceti Sakowin Camp close to the Standing Rock Reservation on Dec. 4, 2016, near Cannon Ball.

People celebrate around the Oceti Sakowin Camp near Cannon Ball, N.D., Dec. 4, 2016. The Army Corps of Engineers announced it was halting construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline and considering alternative routes, something protesters had sought for months.

Michael Hopkins, 59, of Neenah, Wis., holds a mirror, Dec. 4, 2016, as he and other demonstrators prepare to practice an art demonstration intended to reflect the police officers' aggression back to them, according to native artist Rory Erler Wakemup in the Oceti Sakowin Camp near Cannon Ball, N.D.

Demonstrators walk the hills above the Oceti Sakowin Camp near the Standing Rock Reservation, Dec. 4, 2016, near Cannon Ball, N.D.

Food donations sit ready to be taken in the Oceti Sakowin Camp near the Standing Rock Reservation, Dec. 4, 2016, near Cannon Ball, N.D.

Demonstrators embrace after a daily water ceremony in the Oceti Sakowin Camp near the Standing Rock Reservation, Dec. 3, 2016 near Cannon Ball, N.D.

Heinz Brummel from Minneapolis works to construct a yurt paid for through a GoFundMe campaign put on by Indigenous Roots, Dec. 3, 2016 near Cannon Ball, N.D.

Abigail Gallant, a masseuse and yoga instructor from Massachusetts, practices yoga along the Cannon Ball river in the Oceti Sakowin Camp near the Standing Rock Reservation, Dec. 3, 2016 near Cannon Ball, N.D.

Demonstrators work in the Oceti Sakowin Camp near the Standing Rock Reservation, Dec. 3, 2016, near Cannon Ball, N.D.

U.S. Army veteran Zhooniya Ogitchida spray paints a sign for the veterans headquarters tent at the Oceti Sakowin Camp, Dec. 3, 2016, on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation near Cannon Ball, N.D. As many as 2,000 veterans are expected at the camp this weekend to participate in non-violent protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Native Americans and activists from around the country have been gathering at the camp for several months trying to halt the construction of the pipeline. The proposed 1,172-mile-long pipeline would transport oil from the North Dakota Bakken region through South Dakota, Iowa and into Illinois.

Activists on horseback pass through the Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation outside Cannon Ball, N.D.

Vietnam Army veteran Dan Luker, of Boston, attends a briefing for fellow veterans at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D., Dec. 3, 2016.

Flags flap in the wind on the main thoroughfare of Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, Dec. 3, 2016, outside Cannon Ball, N.D., as Native Americans and activists from around the country gather at the camp trying to halt the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

An activist builds a temporary shelter at the Oceti Sakowin Camp near Cannon Ball, N.D., Dec. 3, 2016.

People stand outside a dome used as a community center and sleeping area at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, N.D., Dec. 2, 2016.

Angie Spencer, left, performs sage smudging on a military veteran at Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on December 3, 2016 near Cannon Ball, N.D.

Lindsey Denison, of Los Angeles, volunteers to hang up donated clothing at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline, Dec. 2, 2016.

Jonathan Shields, from Portland, Oregon, helps to cut firewood in front of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe tent at Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on Dec. 2, 2016 outside Cannon Ball, N.D.

Travelers arrive at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline as they walk into a tent next to an upside-down american flag in Cannon Ball, N.D., Dec. 2, 2016.

An activist staying at Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation digs out from a recent snowfall on Nov. 30, 2016 outside Cannon Ball, N.D.

Night falls on Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on outside Cannon Ball, N.D. Dec. 1, 2016.

Protesters demonstrate in solidarity with members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota over the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Philadelphia, Dec 1, 2016.

Snow covers the ground at Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation outside Cannon Ball, N.D. Dec.1, 2016

Military veterans stand on a closed bridge to protest across from police protecting the Dakota Access oil pipeline site in Cannon Ball, N.D. Dec. 1, 2016. Some military veterans in North Dakota disagree with the 2,000 veterans planning to join a protest opposing the four-state, $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline.

Army veteran James White, a member of the Lakota Native American tribe, makes a snow angel on a closed bridge during a protest across from police protecting the Dakota Access oil pipeline site in Cannon Ball, N.D., Dec. 1, 2016.

The Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline stands in the background as a boy sleds down a hill in Cannon Ball, N.D. Nov. 29, 2016.

Smokey, a member of the Sioux Native American tribe, rides the horse Prophecy, a descendant of the horse belonging to war chief Crazy Horse, as he pulls a sled at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline, in Cannon Ball, N.D. Nov. 29, 2016.

Protesters demonstrate in solidarity with members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota over the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Philadelphia, Dec. 1, 2016.

Loretta Reddog, of Placerville, Calif., shovels a walkway to her tent while followed by her dog Gurdee Bean at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D. Nov. 29, 2016. "I'm scared. I'm a California girl, you know?" said Reddog who arrived several months ago with her two dogs and has yet to adjust to the harsher climate.

A person prays along the Cannonball River during a Native American water ceremony at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D. Nov. 29, 2016.

Activist Maria Fortune, of Lincoln, Neb., leads a crowd in a march protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline, outside the Robert V. Denney Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Lincoln on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. Protests were being held Tuesday across the country, from California to Vermont. Activists called for demonstrations at Army Corps of Engineers offices and at banks financing the pipeline construction.

People including Steve Cramer, center, protest the Dakota Access pipeline project in front of the Richard Bolling Federal Building in downtown Kansas City, Mo.

Supporters of the Dakota Access Pipeline hold signs on Burleigh Avenue and University Drive in Bismarck, N.D., during the international day of action relating to the pipeline issue.

Caro Gonzales holds a megaphone to lead demonstrators protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Bismarck, N.D.

With chants and signs, protesters occupy the lobby area of Wells Fargo Bank during a rally against the Dakota Access oil pipeline construction in Eugene, Ore. The peaceful march began in front of the Army Corp offices in Eugene and moved through the downtown area stoping at several banks that the group said are involved in helping fund the pipeline.

Hubert Sendes, a Lakota Sioux, holds a sign with others protesting outside the federal building that houses the Army Corps of Engineers offices in Dallas.

Zavier Oudinara, 7, holds a sign showing a black snake as he chants with others outside during a protest the federal building housing the Army Corps of Engineers offices in Dallas.

Protestors hold a sign calling for the arrest of Dallas based Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren during a protest outside the federal building housing the Army Corps of Engineers offices in Dallas.

A pair of Dakota Pipeline protesters stand in front of a line law enforcement personnel at the intersection of Rosser Avenue and Fourth Street in downtown Bismarck, N.D., as protesters marched from the state Capitol to the William L. Guy Federal Building.

Dakota Pipeline protesters stand arm-in-arm in front of the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D., before marching downtown to the William L. Guy Federal Building.

Protesters demonstrate in solidarity with members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota over the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, in Philadelphia.

Demonstrators against the Dakota Access oil pipeline hold a ceremony at the main protest camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The ceremony was in honor of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental attorney and president of the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance, who visited the Dakota Access oil pipeline protesters Tuesday.

Protesters demonstrate outside of the US Army Corps of Engineers office in Huntington, W.Va., in solidarity with opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

Opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline gather in the main protest camp near Cannon Ball, N.D.

Celeste Haverstick holds a sign during a Standing in Solidarity with Standing Rock protest outside of the Boulder County Courthouse in Boulder, Colo.

Erin Wise, left, of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, shakes hands with Maj. Gen. Donald Jackson of the Army Corps of Engineers during a demonstration against the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline outside the Corps headquarters in Washington, DC. Organizers held a national day of action to call on President Barack Obama and the Army Corps of Engineers to permanently reject the pipeline before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 15: Hundreds of people sit in silent protest against the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline outside the offices of the Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, DC.

Hundreds of demonstrators block the entrance to the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters in Washington, DC.

Erin Wise, center, of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, leads a protest march from the Army Corps of Engineers to the White House to demonstration against the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline.

Hundreds of demonstrators block the entrance to the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters.

Native American protestors march showing their opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline, in Chicago, Nov. 2016.

Actress Shailene Woodley is led to a transport vehicle by a Morton County Sheriff's deputy after being arrested at a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline near St. Anthony, N.D. Oct. 10, 2016.

Native American protesters march showing their opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline, in Chicago on Nov. 12, 2016.

Dozens of protestors demonstrating against the expansion of the Dakota Access Pipeline wade in cold creek waters confronting local police, as remnants of pepper spray waft over the crowd near Cannon Ball, N.D., Nov. 2, 2016. Officers in riot gear clashed again Wednesday with protesters near the Dakota Access pipeline, hitting several dozen with pepper spray as they waded through waist-deep water in an attempt to reach property owned by the pipeline's developer.

Demonstrators protest the expansion of the Dakota Access Pipeline under a water source close to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation participate in a prayer and drum circle near Cannon Ball, N.D.

Tonya Stands recovers after being pepper sprayed by police after swimming across a creek with other protesters hoping to build a new camp to block construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, near Cannon Ball, N.D.

An exodus of Dakota Access Pipeline protesters move south on Highway 1806 as a line of law enforcement slowly push the protest effort from the Front Line Camp to the Oceti Wakoni overflow camp a few miles down the road in Morton County, N.D., on Oct. 27, 2016. The months-long dispute over the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline reached a crisis point when the protesters set up camp on land owned by pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners. The disputed area is just to the north of a more permanent and larger encampment on federally owned land where hundreds of protesters have camped for months.

Law enforcement officers stand in the distance as fire and thick smoke from burning tires billows in the air as a Dakota Access Pipeline at a protest roadblock across Highway 1806 in Morton County, N.D.

Law enforcement officers move in during a Dakota Access Pipeline protest on Oct. 27, 2016, near Cannon Ball, N.D.

A Dakota Access oil pipeline protester who identified himself only as Smokey shows where he was hit by a shotgun bean bag round fired by officers trying to force protesters from a camp near Cannon Ball, N.D. Authorities say protesters threw rocks at officers and threatened them on horseback. Law enforcement officers dressed in riot gear began arresting protesters who had set up a camp on private land to block construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

Demonstrators stand next to burning tires as armed soldiers and law enforcement officers assemble to force Dakota Access Pipeline protesters off the private land.

A picture made available by the Morton County Sheriff's Department shows protesters and law enforcement personnel confronting each other during a demonstration against the North Dakota oil pipeline project, along the Dakota Access Pipeline construction site, in Morton County, N.D., on Oct. 27, 2016.