Sheriff: Cost of supporting Dakota Access pipeline protest site is $22M

Protesters wade in a creek to demonstrate.
Protesters 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.
John L. Mone | AP 2016

Local sheriff's officials say they've tallied the numbers on the costs and resources needed to maintain law and order at the encampment of demonstrators protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

The Morton County Sheriff's Office says the state and local cost to ensure public safety since last August is $22 million. Sheriff's officials say 91 in-state agencies and 33 out-of-state agencies have provided support.

The agency says 94.5 percent of the 581 people that have been arrested at the protest site are from other states besides North Dakota. And, of those arrested, 182 have criminal records.

The sheriff's office says its numbers come from the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services and several other agencies.

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