Heinrich, Udall appeal to Obama on Dakota pipeline protest

New Mexico’s U.S. senators today wrote separate letters to President Barack Obama asking him intervene in a potential confrontation between Dakota Access Pipeline protesters and the U.S. Corps of Engineers, which has given protesters an early December deadline for dispersing from the protest site. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, both Democrats, urged caution in dealing with the protesters today. Udall is set to become the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in January. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has set a Dec. 5 deadline for American Indians and others to leave an encampment in North Dakota where they’ve been entrenched for months protesting the Dakota Access pipeline. In his letter, Heinrich asked Obama to “overturn” the date. “I question the decision to close the area to demonstrators on December 5, 2016,” Heinrich wrote. “This arbitrary date is certain to escalate an already volatile situation and I would urge you to overturn this decision by the Corps of Engineers. I ask that you seek a peaceful resolution to this conflict that respects the desire of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe to protect their water and historic sacred sites.” “I am gravely concerned about the recent escalation of violence in North Dakota against members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and those standing in solidarity with them,” Heinrich’s letter said. Heinrich also decried “the brutality we’ve seen in recent days involving rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons” used against protesters by law enforcement. Udall also voiced worry about the Dec. 5 deadline...more

 Compare that to:

Heinrich: Armed Extremists At Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Must Be Prosecuted

"I am concerned that the absence of federal prosecution after similar events in the past, such as the 2014 standoff near Bunkerville, Nevada, may have emboldened these individuals to seize federal property in the Malheur standoff. There must be consequences for this sort of dangerous action. When the federal government does not fulfill its duty in prosecuting violations of the law, individuals are emboldened to further defy the law."