On November 7, in Mandan, North Dakota, 38 water protectors went before Judge Gail Hagerty at Morton County District Court to be arraigned on charges related to arrests that took place on October 22 on treaty land near the Dakota Access Pipeline construction site just north of the Standing Rock Reservation in Morton County.
Morton County charged all 38 present defendants with Criminal Trespass. Thirty-six of them were additionally charged with Engaging in a Riot. Both Criminal Trespass and Engaging in a Riot are Class BMisdemeanors in North Dakota with maximum penalties of up to 30 days in jail and maximum fines of $1,500 if found guilty. All defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges, according to Chelsey Luger if ICTMN.
The courtroom oat the Morton County District Courthouse was completely packed with water protectors, a few attorneys, and six armed Morton County Sheriff’s Department officers around the perimeter of the room. Outside the building and throughout the hallways, many other came to show their support for the protectors. They were not allowed inside due to lack of space in the tiny courtroom.
Luger said Judge Hagerty went down the list and called each defendant to the bench one by one, making her way through each arraignment at a rate of about four minutes per person. The judge fully read through the rights, charges and instructions on how to apply for court-appointed attorneys for the first five individuals or so. As the proceedings continued, she began to abbreviate the process by asking each following defendant whether they had already heard and understood the nature of their rights and charges based on her reading to other defendants in the room. This expedited the process but frustrated several defendants who requested that she fully read their rights, attorney options, and describe the penalties and charges, even if they had already heard them. The judge complied.
Overall, the court proceedings were quiet, but a few protectors decided to question Hagerty or to comment about their situation.
“I object to the use of the overwhelming force of six Morton County Sheriffs as bailiffs in court,” said one woman after entering her not-guilty plea, “and I hope that there won’t be any more than the already-too-much 31 billion gallons of fracked water in North Dakota, Your Honor.”
Hagerty replied, “Your objection is noted.”
On the wall, behind the judge, hung a large painted portrait of a Plains chief in headdress. A few protectors used their talking time to question Hagerty about the painting.
“May I ask which Native American is on that wall right there?” one defendant asked.
Hagerty replied, “I have no idea, and that’s something you can figure out at another time. We have a lot of people to get through.”
“I don’t think this court respects Native people, and so you should take that picture down. All this violence against Native people is really disgusting and disrespectful,” said another protector.
The judge ignored the comment rather than differentiate her court from the police that are the ones being violent and abusive towards the protectors.
After entering a not guilty plea to a charge of Criminal Trespass, another defendant asked the judge, “How could you charge anybody for trespassing on treaty land?”
“Talk to your attorney about that,” the judge advised, “It may be something that they’ll want to argue incourt, but it’s not something that we’ll talk about today.”
Most defendants’ trial dates are scheduled for January 13; a few are scheduled for January 12, January 20 and February 24. All but three noted that they will not be hiring attorneys, but that they would like to be represented and that they intend on applying or already have applied for a state-appointed attorney. The judge noted that the trials will be six-person jury trials in Morton County, reports Luger.
Several defendants chose to speak in the Lakota language while answering yes/no questions.
“Do you understand the process for acquiring a court-appointed attorney?” the Judge asked one individual.
“Hau,” he replied. (“Hau,” is the male way of saying “yes” in Lakota).
“You’re going to have to answer ‘Yes” or ‘No,’ ” the judge demanded, and repeated her question.
“Hau,” he said again, this time adding, “I’m going to ask that you learn the language of the land here and understand that this court has no jurisdiction over a sovereign nation in 1851 treaty territory.”
Later on, when another defendant also answered with “Hau” instead of “yes,” the judge did not object and simply accepted the answer.
Another protector has a very logical response to the false charges when asked about his plea:
“To the charge of Engaging in a Riot, how do you plea?” the judge asked.
“Walking in prayer is not a riot. Not guilty,” he replied.
“To the charge of Criminal Trespass, how do you plea?” the judge asked.
“This is stolen land. Not guilty,” he stated.
Only one time in the midst of the hearings did the audience erupt in any kind of commotion. A Caucasian woman, gray-haired and neatly dressed, pleaded not guilty to both criminal trespass and engaging in a riot. When herarraignment ended, just before she left the bench, the woman leaned forward and spoke quietly into the microphone.
“Your honor, I do have one thing to say,” she said, “I am so proud to be here. Thank you.”
The audience erupted in applause.
The trials of the protectors will be coming up soon. If you can be there to show your support, it will be greatly appreciated by the ones defending the water and land.
(Article by Jeremiah Jones)
(countercurrentnews.com)