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Lead Standing Rock responder wants $19,000 for emails with pro-DAPL PR firms
Looking to build off our reporting on the National Sheriffs’ Association and their help with linking North Dakota law enforcement with the public relations firms Delve and Off the Record Strategies during the #NoDAPL protests, we filed a request with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, which took on a central role in law enforcement’s response to Standing Rock. Their reply was shocking: over nine thousand documents were responsive, resulting in a bill of over $19,000.
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DAPL threat assessment paints nonviolent Standing Rock protestors as unruly mob, defends use of attack dogs as “protection”
A threat assessment by a local fusion center on the Standing Rock protests recently released to MuckRock presents a lopsided view of the conflict, with guards and law enforcement subject to unfair treatment on social media for their use of dogs as “protection,” and retaliatory public shaming for racist Facebook posts about Native Americans.
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Emails show Iraq War PR alumni guided government response to Standing Rock protests
Behind the scenes, as law enforcement officials tried to stem protests against the Dakota Access pipeline, alumni from the George W. Bush White House were leading a crisis communications effort to discredit pipeline protesters. This revelation comes from documents obtained via an open records request from the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department in Wyoming.
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Louisiana joins police compact which brought out-of-state cops to Standing Rock
This month, Louisiana entered into the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), which last year gave out-of-state cops the legal authority to flood into North Dakota during the protests against the Dakota Access pipeline. Tellingly, this agreement coincides with the state’s finalization of the Bayou Bridge pipeline proposal, itself an extension of DAPL.
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MuckRock’s Curtis Waltman is heading to Standing Rock
With help from a grant by the Fund for Investigative Journalism, MuckRock’s Curtis Waltman will have the opportunity to travel to both North and South Dakota beginning this Friday, to speak with victims of this police violence and hear their stories, gather a more complete picture of the tactics used against them, and learn about the aftermath of what this trauma wrought.
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Five law enforcement agencies that don’t want you looking at their protest records
In trying to learn more about how police respond to demonstrations, MuckRock has been consistently met with exemptions and pushback, often with entire records releases being denied. Let us curate the five worst examples of this we have come across in the last few months.
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Emails highlight constituents’ role in Wisconsin recalling troopers from Standing Rock
Emails released from Dane County Sheriff’s Office regarding their deployment from Wisconsin to North Dakota to participate in suppressing the NoDAPL protests at Standing Rock show how public outcry contributed to the decision to end the deployment early.
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Indiana reveals the arsenal they brought with them to Standing Rock
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security has provided us with a remarkably unredacted look at the agreement they signed with North Dakota to send officers to help suppress Standing Rock protests, including a detailed breakdown of the $277 thousand in law enforcement equipment they brought with them.
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Wisconsin governor appears to choose subduing Standing Rock protest over aiding Hurricane Matthew victims
Scott Walker’s office has released a new trove of Standing Rock protest records, including an email apparently showing that the demonstrations were a higher priority than victims of Hurricane Matthew.
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MuckRock’s guide to protests and FOIA: The day before
In a democracy, the power of the people comes from the ability to hold their government accountable. We’re launching a project to provide a comprehensive list of FOIA resources that will help you to prepare, participate, and investigate protests. Today, we’ll be looking at what to know before the protest starts.