Pipeline opponents end disruption after Wells Fargo promises meeting with tribal elders
Organizers of a downtown Minneapolis demonstration against Wells Fargo say they left after assurances that bank officials will meet with tribal elders concerned with the bank's investment in the Dakota Access pipeline.
Organizer Garrett Fitzgerald said around two dozen people tried to disrupt business as usual at the bank.
Six demonstrators, who prefer to be called "water protectors," blocked access to the elevators as bank employees tried to get to work. The action was intended to get Wells Fargo to divest from the pipeline, Fitzgerald said.
The promise from bank leaders to meet about the issue fell short of their goal.
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"But, [it] was a qualified victory for what they were hoping to achieve with this action today," Fitzgerald said.
The demonstrators left the building after receiving a letter from Wells Fargo promising a meeting.
Police made no arrests.
Fitzgerald says he doesn't know if that meeting has been scheduled yet.
Similar actions happened in St. Paul and several cities around the country today, and organizers have called for more demonstrations this month.