Demonstrators and authorities near the site of the Dakota Access pipeline braced for a possible showdown on Feb. 22 as the deadline for demonstrators to leave the Oceti Sakowin camp, located on U.S. Army Corps land in Cannon Ball, N.D., approaches.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers set a deadline of the afternoon of Feb. 22, but protest leaders said at least some would defy the order.
“Everybody plans to be in camp tomorrow up until the 2 o'clock mark. Then people will make their individual decisions about what their level of commitment is," Chase Iron Eyes, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, told Reuters by telephone. "Some will get arrested."
Native Americans and environmental activists have said the multibillion-dollar pipeline threatens the water resources and sacred land of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, but President Donald Trump has quickly pushed for the completion of the pipeline since taking office last month.
Protesters and law enforcement have clashed multiple times and hundreds have been arrested since demonstrations began in August.
The Standing Rock Sioux asked protesters to depart from the site in December as they continued to fight the pipeline in court, but some 300 demonstrators have remained.
Law enforcement officials were urging people to leave the camp ahead of the deadline and remove anything that could be damaged during cleanup efforts.
"We really would like them (protesters) to get the culturally sensitive items out so when they bulldoze and clean out the camp they aren't dealing with any of those things," said Maxine Herr, a spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff's Department.
Just days after taking office in January, Trump, a Republican, signed an executive order clearing the way for the $3.8 billion pipeline to proceed.
A judge denied a request earlier this month by two tribes seeking to halt construction, which resumed. The tribes are seeking an injunction to order the Army Corps to withdraw the easement.
Burgum, a Republican, has warned that spring floods pose a threat to the remaining protesters as well as the waters of the Missouri River.
More than 200 dumpsters of debris have been removed from the site since cleanup efforts began last month, said Mike Nowatzki, a spokesman for the governor.
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