Pipeline Protest Targets Final Vikings Game
Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - Two protesters failed to disrupt the game, but they drew the attention of thousands of Vikings fans inside U.S. Bank Stadium for the team's final game of the 2016 season.
A man and woman unfurled a huge banner reading "US Bank Divest" and then suspended themselves on ropes hung from the rafters on the roof of the stadium in downtown Minneapolis. The protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline began in the second quarter of the Vikings game against the Chicago Bears, and it appeared that Minneapolis Police would wait until after the game to them into custody.
While there was no interruption to the NFL game or the television broadcast, a few dozen fans were removed from their seats directly below the banner as a precaution.
The protesters were demonstrating against US Bank's contribution to the financing package for the multi-billion dollar pipeline project in North Dakota, which has been put on hold by the Environment Protection Agency's recent decision to repeal a permit for running it under a reservoir on Missouri River because of protests by American Indian tribes and other environmental activist groups.