Protesters Allegedly Hold Journalists Hostage At Dakota Oil Pipeline Rally

Protesters allegedly intimidated and held a crew of journalists hostage Tuesday at one of the Dakota oil pipeline protests in North Dakota. Activists associated with the Dakota Access Pipeline protests threatened to slash journalists Phelm McAleer and Magdalena Segieda’s tires and seize their filming equipment. The two reporters were conducting interviews at the Sacred Stone Camp where protesters have gathered to prevent the construction of an oil pipeline. Federal officials are refusing to evict those hunkered down at the anti-pipeline encampments near the highly controversial, $3.8 billion project. Officials believe booting the protesters would harm free speech rights, despite the fact that the land is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Someone out of the blue started attacking, tried to steel our microphone,” McAleer told The Daily Caller News Foundation, prompting his crew to flea to their vehicle as protesters followed close behind. The protesters then pounced on the vehicle, pounding on its windows and demanding the crew inside turn around and head toward the press tent so they could confiscate McAleer’s camera footage...more