Video inside US Bank Stadium where a DAPL protester is hanging next to a banner, section of seats cleared below
A group of anti-Dakota Access Pipeline protesters rappelled to the top of U.S. Bank Stadium and unveiled a banner during the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears game Sunday. The two activists hovered from the rafters above the crowd until police resolved the situation.
The banner had the stadium’s namesake, U.S. Bank, written across the top with the word “DIVEST” and the hashtag #NoDAPL written across the bottom. The large banner at the Vikings stadium comes after months of protest after a plan to further construct the pipeline was projected to run near the water source of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
While some had mix reactions of the activists unveiling the banner in Minneapolis, the act was largely met with boos, according to a reporter from My Fox 9 in Minneapolis.
To ensure safety of the surrounding fans, staff at the Vikings’ stadium cleared away a section.
In a statement, the Associated Press reported that two people climbed over a guard rail to access the ridge truss. Police negotiated with the protesters to come down from the rafters, and moved quickly to try and halt the situation.
Police move into try & catch protestors opposing US Bank support of Dakota Access Pipeline #dapl
In early December, the Army Corps of Engineers announced that the work on the pipeline was to be halted and rerouted, with the current route for the pipeline being denied.
The 1,172-mile pipeline was almost complete prior to the protests, except or a small part under the Missouri River reservoir. Protests from the tribe were met with much support from groups around the nation who protested the construction and the effect it would have on the reservation.
The four-state pipeline project is said to cost $3.8 billion. Opponents and protestors of the pipeline are concerned that the pipeline could affect drinking water and Native American artifacts.
