North Dakota pipeline: US journalist Amy Goodman faces riot charge

BBC

_91950184_gettyimages-83952353GETTY IMAGES  •  Amy Goodman said she was “doing my job as a journalist”

US journalist Amy Goodman is facing charges of participating in a “riot” after filming Native American-led protests over an oil pipeline in North Dakota.

The Democracy Now! reporter said she would surrender to authorities on Monday in response to the charge.

District Judge John Grinsteiner will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to support the riot charge.

Ms Goodman filmed the crackdown on protesters by authorities last month.

“I wasn’t trespassing, I wasn’t engaging in a riot, I was doing my job as a journalist by covering a violent attack on Native American protesters,” Ms Goodman said.

The charge relates to her Democracy Now! coverage of the protests against the Dakota Access pipeline on 3 September.

Earlier this month US actress Shailene Woodley was arrested at a construction site for broadcasting the North Dakota protests on Facebook.

The video by the Divergent star was viewed more than 2.4 million times on social media within hours of being posted.

The Dakota Access oil pipeline project, which will cross four states, has drawn huge protests.

Native Americans have halted its construction in North Dakota, saying it will desecrate sacred land and damage the environment.

_91950189_gettyimages-600666944GETTY IMAGES  • Amy Goodman is facing a riot charge after covering the North Dakota pipeline protests in September
Map showing pipeline running through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois, also showing the town of St Anthony, where protest took place

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37676332

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