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This week’s FOIA round-up: Weird science at the Pentagon, a congressional challenge to the Interior’s proposed FOIA changes, and Minnesota law enforcement spies on pipeline protesters
For this week’s FOIA round-up, the Department of Defense releases more details on a late ‘00s program concerning fringe science theories, an Arizona congressman wants to challenge the Department of Interior’s proposed FOIA changes, and Minnesota law enforcement is gearing up for Enbridge Line 3 pipeline protests.
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Lead Standing Rock responder wants $19,000 for emails with pro-DAPL PR firms
Looking to build off our reporting on the National Sheriffs’ Association and their help with linking North Dakota law enforcement with the public relations firms Delve and Off the Record Strategies during the #NoDAPL protests, we filed a request with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, which took on a central role in law enforcement’s response to Standing Rock. Their reply was shocking: over nine thousand documents were responsive, resulting in a bill of over $19,000.
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Kinder Morgan paid Massachusetts State Police $115 thousand to defend controversial pipeline
In May, Massachusetts State Police was paid over $ 115 thousand for “pipeline authority” and “pipeline security” services by Kinder Morgan, Inc, recently-released records reveal.
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DAPL fusion center reports illustrate everything wrong with fusion centers
Flimsy threat assessments issued by North Dakota fusion center regarding the Standing Rock protests reinforce much of the criticsim that’s been leveled against fusions over the last decade and a half: namely, that fusion centers are not very good at their job, do not produce intelligence which is actionable or particularly useful, and are instead used to gain intelligence about activist groups, and members of the public who are not a crime risk, violating their civil liberties for basically no reason at all.
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DAPL threat assessment paints nonviolent Standing Rock protestors as unruly mob, defends use of attack dogs as “protection”
A threat assessment by a local fusion center on the Standing Rock protests recently released to MuckRock presents a lopsided view of the conflict, with guards and law enforcement subject to unfair treatment on social media for their use of dogs as “protection,” and retaliatory public shaming for racist Facebook posts about Native Americans.
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Emails show Iraq War PR alumni guided government response to Standing Rock protests
Behind the scenes, as law enforcement officials tried to stem protests against the Dakota Access pipeline, alumni from the George W. Bush White House were leading a crisis communications effort to discredit pipeline protesters. This revelation comes from documents obtained via an open records request from the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department in Wyoming.
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Louisiana joins police compact which brought out-of-state cops to Standing Rock
This month, Louisiana entered into the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), which last year gave out-of-state cops the legal authority to flood into North Dakota during the protests against the Dakota Access pipeline. Tellingly, this agreement coincides with the state’s finalization of the Bayou Bridge pipeline proposal, itself an extension of DAPL.
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Five environmental impacts of the EPA changing under Trump
Last week, Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, traveled to Sycamore, Pennsylvania and, speaking before the coal miners at Harvey Mine, announced that the EPA would be advancing a “Back-to-Basics” agenda in the new administration. But what does that really mean?
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Preparing for Standing Rock, North Dakota governor requested “chemical munitions launcher,” riot squads, and cops with active shooter training
Emails from North Dakota’s governor shows that police deployed to the #NoDAPL protests were expecting heavy resistance, with the call for assistance specifically requesting cops with chemical munitions, riot suppression, and active shooter training.
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Police across the country looked at Standing Rock as a sort of law enforcement laboratory
Responding to North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple’s request for aid, nearly 40 police and sheriff’s departments flocked to Standing Rock to participate in crowd control around the #NoDAPL protests. Recently released emails show that many relished the opportunity to test out the equipment and tactics that would be most effective in quelling future unrest in their own states.