A journalist, activist and congressional candidate was allegedly shot with a rubber bullet while interviewing Dakota pipeline protesters at the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota.
In a statement posted to her social media accounts, Erin Schrode said she was shot by militarized police while conducting an interview with a peaceful protester. Schrode – who is running for congress in California – caught the alleged incident on camera.
READ MORE: Standing Rock protesters say police put them in ‘dog kennels,’ marked them with numbers
“We have every right, this is sovereign nation right here,” said the man she was interviewing. Seconds later, a shot is heard and Schrode screams out in pain. The camera briefly pans towards Schrode’s face as bystanders yell out “are you OK?”
READ MORE: Dakota Access pipeline protest gets boost of faith as clergy stand with Standing Rock Sioux
“I was standing innocently onshore, not making any aggressive gestures, never exchanging a single word with the police who fired at my lower back from their boat,” read a statement posted to Schrode’s Facebook account.
“I was shot at pointblank range, dozens were maced and pepper sprayed in the face, hundreds faced freezing waters. There were no arrests or deaths and I will be okay physically, but the safety and well being of many peoples and lands remain in danger, for present and future generations.”
The Dakota Access pipeline is set to stretch from North Dakota through to Illinois, passing through four states and 50 counties, transporting approximately 450,000 barrels of crude a day.
A months-long protest has been waged against the pipeline, with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe at the heart of the fight. The tribe says the pipeline will desecrate sacred land and potentially contaminate water supplies.
WATCH: Protesters pepper-sprayed during Dakota pipeline protest
Clashes between protesters and police have resulted in more than 400 arrests since August.
The most recent incident came Wednesday, when law officers in riot gear used pepper spray to deter dozens of protesters who tried to cross a frigid stream to access property owned by the pipeline developer. Two people were arrested. About 140 people were arrested on the property last week in a law enforcement operation that cleared the encampment that protesters had established on the land.
READ MORE: Here are the key players in the Dakota Access pipeline fight
“I do not wish to divert focus away from the bravery of the Water Protectors, from the power of nonviolent direct action, from the people fighting for their lives and for our futures – but I want you to witness the indiscriminate use of excessive force firsthand,” Schrode wrote.
— With files from Reuters
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