North Dakota takes federal government to trial over costs to police Dakota Access Pipeline protests

North Dakota is set to take the federal government to trial Thursday for the costs of responding to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, the culmination of an unusual and drawn-out court fight.

The state filed the lawsuit in 2019, seeking $38 million from the federal government for policing the protests. Years of legal wrangling followed before the trial date was scheduled in December. The bench trial before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor is expected to last 12-13 days.

In an interview, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said the trial will show examples of numerous requests to the federal government for help and the “complete refusal” to offer resources and financial support in response.

“It ought not be one of the options of the federal government to just throw up its hands and tell states ‘You’re on your own’ in an instance like this where the illegalities are what they are,” Wrigley said.

North Dakota relied on compacts to bring in law enforcement officers from around the region and the country for help, he said.

Thousands of people camped and demonstrated near the oil pipeline’s controversial Missouri River crossing upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. The tribe has long opposed the pipeline due to the threat of an oil spill polluting the tribe’s water supply.

The protests lasted months. Some days involved clashes between demonstrators and officers, including at a blocked highway bridge where officers used tear gas and rubber bullets and sprayed water in below-freezing temperatures as protesters tried to move past and allegedly threw rocks and burning logs.

The state’s complaint alleges many “trespassers at these unlawful encampments engaged in disruptive, illegal and