A fund supported by Vice President Kamala Harris has been reportedly helping protesters who were arrested during demonstrations against a pipeline project in Minnesota.
The story: The Pipeline Legal Action Network, a group that backs those protesting the pipeline, directed demonstrators who need legal help to The Minnesota Freedom Fund for bail assistance, the Daily Caller reported.
“The Minnesota Freedom Fund has committed to supporting the movement for all bail needs,” the group said on its website.
The350 Rutland County, which has organized some of the demonstrations, separately told people that they can support the protests by donating to the Minnesota Freedom Fund.
Why it matters? Harris promoted the fund last summer, urging her Twitter followers to donate to the fund to help Black Lives Matter protesters post bail.
Worth noting: Earlier this year, it was reported that the fund twice posted bail for a man who was suspected of having been involved in rioting and damaging a police precinct. He was also accused of attempting to illegally purchase a gun and charged with possession of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm, Fox News reported.
How we got here: Protesters who oppose the Line 3 pipeline project in northern Minnesota, which would carry Canadian tar sands oil and regular crude from Alberta to Wisconsin, argue that the line would worsen climate change and increase the risk of spills in areas where Native Americans hunt, gather medical plants, harvest wild rice, and claim treaty rights, among other things.
A group of demonstrators this week marched to a construction site operated by the Canadian company behind the pipeline, the Enbridge Line 3 pump station near Park Rapids, and chained themselves to equipment.
How many were arrested? Authorities arrested nearly 250 protesters, according to ABC News. Hubbard County Sheriff Cory Aukes said they caused “a large amount of damage” to equipment “and other assets.”
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