Line 3 Opponents “Shielding Themselves with Native Americans”
Line 3 protesters earlier this month took their “activism” to a new level when they trespassed and destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment at a pump station site near the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. As GAIN previously noted:
The vandalism was substantial: slashed tires, cut hoses, rocks lodged into engines, forced entry into offices, and electrical wiring tampering were all found on the scene when workers showed up for work Monday morning. More than this, destruction of environmental safeguards that were intended to control erosion and protect water quality were bombarded and obliterated— hypocrisy levels are high. Enbridge, the attacked pipeline company, acted quickly to protect employees. Workers were evacuated from the site, including employees of Indigenous-owned contractor Gordon Construction from the White Earth Reservation. Gordon Construction’s damaged equipment, pictured below, will be taken out of service for weeks and completely overhauled, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Fox News recently spoke with Matt Gordon, vice president of his family’s construction company in Mahnomen, MN, and a member of the White Earth Nation tribe. Gordon expressed frustration that environmental protesters claiming to speak for Native Americans vandalized his company’s equipment:
“I’m a contractor for excavation and all of my equipment on site was vandalized,” Matt Gordon told Fox News. “For the most part, a majority of the people are for the pipeline. Everybody enjoys gasoline and plastic products. The opponents are shielding themselves with Native Americans. Most of the protesters were White. Line 3 has brought back millions of dollars to the reservations.”
Fox News pointed out more than 500 Native Americans are part of the Line 3 workforce, and the project could benefit Native American-owned small businesses in the region, with a total of 5,200 construction jobs, according to Enbridge.