While separated by a cement barrier, a mutual understanding among many of the officers and protestors had seemingly been formed at the beginning of the protest. While State Patrol would seemingly remain neutral, the Morton County Sheriff Department would quickly side with the Dakota Access Pipe Line. Dustin White photo

Dustin White
Editor

Ending a 28-year career with the North Dakota Highway Patrol, Kyle Kirchmeier, on Dec. 31, 2014, was sworn into office as the Morton County Sheriff. His first foray into the world of electoral politics, running for sheriff had been a plan of his for quite some time.

Part of Kirchmeier’s goal as a candidate was to bring a positive leadership and professionalism to the office, areas he said could use improvements. It was part of a larger idea of cultivating respect.

Stating that officers needed to cultivate a culture of respect, Kirchmeier stated that as sheriff, he’d be open to sitting down and listening to the concerns of the community. After just a year in office, such promises would fall to the wayside.

Challenges arise
In early August of 2016, Kirchmeier, serving as sheriff, would be faced with a challenge. As a protest began to grow south of Mandan, near the Cannonball River, the Morton County Sheriff’s Department would be called in to monitor the situation.



While a few arrests would be made during the first week, arrests due to impeding construction, the protest would remain peaceful. Gathered together in song and prayer, the protestors, or water protectors as they preferred to be called, were dedicated to non-violent direct action.

An understanding seemed to be created between the protectors and law enforcement. Acknowledging that officers were doing their jobs, protectors would bring sandwiches and water to those present, while officers would pay their respect during prayers.

As the protest continued moving forward as peaceful, it would come to the shock of many involved when, on Aug. 17, Kirchmeier announced that rumors had been reported that pipe bombs and guns were present in the protector’s camp. Largely fueled by claims made on social media, Kirchmeier would be unable to provide evidence for the rumors.

Stating that his department would take such rumors seriously, it would soon be discovered that what had fueled the claims for pipe bombs was a misunderstanding. With protectors saying that their pipes had to be filled, referring to sacred pipes, ideas would be misconstrued.

Using such false rumors as a partial justification, a roadblock would be set up south of Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, around 30 miles north of where the protest had been held.

Soon, there would be calls for the road block to be removed, including by Amnesty International. While some saw the block as impeding on their first amendment rights, it posed much more of a problem for the Standing Rock Tribe.

Dave Archambault II, the Standing Rock Sioux Chairman, would label the block as an attack on their economy, their schools, their nation and their race. For Archambault, he saw the block as being a hardship on the people of Standing Rock; a hardship that was unnecessary.

Creating fear
While Kirchmeier would eventually admit that there was no evidence of pipe bombs or guns in the protectors camps, he would nevertheless double down on the rumor. Claiming that shots had been reported in the area, he created a picture of an uprising being formed.



With the start of school nearing, the sheriff department would announce that police would be escorting school buses that picked up children south of the blockade. The narrative Kirchmeier’s department was creating continued to be increasingly negative.

It would soon become clear that while Kirchmeier had stated he was open to sitting down and listening to the concerns of the community, it was a promise he was unwilling to fulfill.

Instead of staying neutral, and open to the entire community, the sheriff’s department would quickly show their support of the Dakota Access Pipe Line. It would become a divide that had real consequences.

Lies and prejudice
The division that was created would continually be increased as the sheriff’s department took to social media.

While they would begin slowly, soon, the sheriff’s department was fully backing the DAPL, as well as doubling down on the statement that the protest as a whole was unlawful.

Soon, the department would be involved in circular logic, as they cited individuals such as Drew Wrigley, North Dakota’s Lt. Governor, who were repeating what the department had said, in order to support their claims.

However, it would be in September that their prejudice against the protectors fully came to light. On Sept. 3, a day after federal papers were filed detailing areas where burial sites, as well as other sites of cultural and historical significance, were located, Dakota Access working on a holiday weekend, used bulldozers to clear a a stretch of land, two miles long and 150 feet wide. It would be the same area in which they had been informed, just 24 hours previously, that those sites existed.

Claiming to not have been present at the incident, the Sheriff Department would begin releasing a story that painted the protectors as a mob involved in a riot. Only taking reports from security guards, the Sheriff Department said what had happened was an ambush and an assault.

To spread their message, the department would take to the “sayanythingblog,” ran by a popular conservative blogger, who has been actively opposed to the protest.

In turn, the Sheriff Department would ignore the reports given by the protectors, while also refusing to enforce state law.

While attack dogs, and pepper spray, had been used on individuals without warning, and burial sites had been knowingly destroyed, a felony under state law, the sheriff department refused to address those concerns.

As the department increased their false rhetoric regarding the incident, they would ramp up their support of the pipe line, while also attempting to portray the protectors as violent, unprovoked, individuals. In the process, they would help spread not only false information, including a doctored photo, they would abandon a portion of the community.



On Sept. 7, the sheriff department would finally shed any attempt at staying neutral. Posting articles that were meant to “help explain” questions, the department would forward information that was propaganda.

Instead of answering questions, the articles argued that there was no reason for the protectors to care about the pipeline. The articles were a complete dismissal of the protectors, and furthered misinformation. 

For Morton County, the actions were a failure for the entire community.