BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A dozen law enforcement officials in North Dakota are imploring President Barack Obama to send federal officers to help control protests against the Dakota Access pipeline.
In a letter released Monday, the officers ask Obama to send 100 Border Patrol agents and members of the U.S. Marshals Service Special Operations Group. They say the federal help would help defray the costs and help relieve fatigue among state and local law enforcement officers.
Nearly 575 pipeline opponents have been arrested since August in and around the state capital Bismarck and a demonstrator encampment along the pipeline route.
The pipeline is stalled while developer Energy Transfer Partners and the Army battle in court over permission to cross under the Missouri River. But law officers say the situation is still volatile.Obama has said his administration is monitoring the situation.