Federal Judge Decries “Hooligan” Faction of Dakota Access Protesters

Today federal Judge Daniel Hovland dissolved a temporary restraining order issued at the request of the Dakota Access Pipeline company which was seeking to stem a tide of disruptive, unlawful, and at times violent protests organized by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

On its face, Hovland’s ruling looks like a win for the protesters, only his legal reasoning for doing so is that the Dakota Access folks were essentially asking him to block criminal activity, which is superfluous because criminal activity is already, you know, illegal.

An excerpt:

But despite this, Hovland delivered a scathing lecture to the protesters. “To suggest that all of the protest activities to date have been “peaceful” and law abiding defies common sense and reality,” he wrote.

He also called the protesters – or at least the faction responsible for the unlawful/violent activities – “hooligans.”

“It is clear the criminal justice system is currently addressing, and will continue to address, the mindless and senseless criminal activity of the hooligans that choose to accompany the protest,” he wrote.

Another excerpt:

This coming after Judge Boasberg’s roasting of Standing Rock’s arguments against the pipeline make it clear that the tribe and their activist lawyers aren’t exactly building a lot of credibility for themselves in the courts.

Here’s the full order:

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