Anti-DAPL protesters hold ‘Day of Action’ across US

Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline are happening across the country as the construction company has sought relief in court. With more than 200 demonstrations planned, the Day of Action is expected to be the largest anti-DAPL protest in months.

Shortly after 6:00pm EST in New York City, protesters were arrested. Video of the final police warnings was shared on Twitter by Candace Bryan, who reported 36 arrests. 

The demonstrations are targeting offices of the US Army Corps of Engineers and the banks that are financing the project.

“The purpose is to elevate the issue and to encourage the Army Corps to exert its power to stop this pipeline,” said Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) spokesperson Dallas Goldtooth, according to Reuters.

RT's Alexander Rubinstein was at the scene of a protest in Washington, DC, outside the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters.

Later Tuesday evening, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) joined the protesters in DC.

Meanwhile, RT America's Trinity Chavez reported live from the protests in New York City.

In San Francisco, California, thousands of protesters blocked off parts of Market Street before settling in outside the Army Corps offices, where they linked arms. The demonstration also blocked employees of Uber, Square and other companies from entering the shared building.

"I'm actually from North Dakota," protester Isabella Zizi told KGO. "And it's really affecting to see my relatives out there and have to fight and put their bodies on the line. And I'm going to do this here in my city in the Bay Area to let them know that I love them and I will do all that I can to be here in solidarity."

Protests are continuing at the camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, near the construction site. Riot police have advanced on the water protectors, many of whom are members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe,  whose reservation is extremely close to the planned pipeline. Law enforcement used mace and arrested several protesters, Reuters reported.

The ‘Day of Action’ comes just one day after the Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Interior delayed a decision on whether to allow a tunnel to be built under the Missouri River reservoir, Lake Oahe – the source of water that is the focus of the protests. The Army Corps of Engineers said it wants input from the Standing Rock Sioux before making a decision.

The night before the nationwide protests, the companies behind the project ‒ Energy Transfer Partners and its subsidiary, Sunoco Logistics Partners ‒ asked a US District Court in Washington, DC for declaratory relief to "end the [Obama] Administration's political interference in the Dakota Access Pipeline review process." Delays in the $3.7 billion Dakota Access project have already cost more than $100 million, the companies said in their court filing.

The pipeline is currently about 85 percent complete, Phillips 66, one of the pipeline’s investors, said last week. The only remaining work to be done in North Dakota is the section that would run under Lake Oahe, according to Energy Transfer Partners.

Here are some of the other protests from around the country:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Houston, Texas

New York City

Los Angeles, California

Detroit, Michigan

Bismarck, North Dakota

Boulder, Colorado

Chicago, Illinois

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

San Antonio, Texas

Madison, Wisconsin

University Park, Pennsylvania