- Kyle Thompson, DAPL security guard aimed AR-15 Assault Rifle at Native American water protectors in Thursday’s incident
- Authorities say Thompson released without charges
- Thompson’s statement of incident on social media
By Red Power Media, Staff | Nov 01, 2016
Authorities say a member of Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) security disguised as a water protector last week is a victim of a crime and not a suspect, even though he was photographed aiming an AR-15 assault rifle at Native American pipeline protesters at Oceti Sakowin camp.
APTN News reports,The man, [Kyle Thompson] who was driving a truck last Thursday owned by the Dakota Access LLC ― the company behind the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline project ― was detained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agents after he was run off the road and then confronted by demonstrators. He was carrying an assault rifle. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said the man fired several shots and that he was disguised as a demonstrator.
He then got out of the vehicle and “fired several shots from his assault rifle,” the tribe said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Thompson went into the nearby water, where he was followed by unarmed Native American protesters ― who prefer to be called water protectors. The BIA was notified about the ongoing incident.
Kyle Thompson, the DAPL security guard who aimed AR-15 at Native Americans dressed as a water protector in Thursday’s incident. Photo:/Facebook
Thompson was dressed as a water protector. A red bandanna was used to cover his face, and arm sleeves used to cover his tattoos.
A spokesperson from the Sheriff’s Department told Red Power Media on Tuesday that no one was charged in relation to the incident.
Thompson was released without charges following the incident, according to the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.
A press release from Morton County says the man [Thompson] was told to check and photograph construction equipment.
He was told to leave the area.
A chase ensued in the ditch and the man’s truck was eventually forced through a fence.
He got out with a gun in hand and retreated into the Cannon Ball River.
He was approached by a handful of men and eventually taken into custody by the BIA.
No shots were fired in the incident.
Authorities say no charges will be filed in this case and that the man was using the gun to protect himself.
Insurance documents seized from the truck showed the vehicle was owned by Dakota Access Pipeline Access LLC.
The insurance documents showed that Knightsbridge Risk Management, a private security firm with a Springfield, OH, address, was insured to operate the truck.
A security badge found in the truck identified the man as Kyle Thompson.
Thompson served 15-months in Iraq
According to the Daily Haze, upon Thompson’s return home from Iraq he was greeted by former Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Tex Hall. Hall gifted Thompson an eagle feather headdress, then a drum group played and sang songs to celebrate his arrival and his success in war.
“It meant a lot to me because of my heritage,” Thompson said.
Now, 10-years later, Thompson armed with an AR-15 and on the opposite side of the DAPL resistance, had to be ran off the road by Native Americans fighting to protect their lands, including burial sites, and the Sioux tribe’s drinking water.
DAPL armed security Kyle Thompson confronted by water protectors.
Thompson’s response
Thompson has since taken to social media to claim that he was only attempting to get pictures of equipment, and had no intention of using his weapon. He claims instead that he grabbed his weapon after “over 300 protesters” were coming towards his truck that had been ran off the road. The post can be read below:
Witnesses on the scene strongly dispute Thompson’s account and say that Thompson was a legitimate threat to people’s safety.
The incident happened near Backwater Bridge, October 27th, just as tensions reached new heights between protesters and police along Highway 1806.
RELATED:
142 people were arrested after Morton County Sheriff deputies assisted by the N. Dakota State Patrol, National Guard and law enforcement officers from seven States, launched a midday operation, ― with pepper spray, tasers, sound cannons, bean bag rounds and rubber bullets used ― to remove protesters from an encampment on private land in the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline’s path.
On Friday, Amnesty International dispatched human rights observers to North Dakota to monitor the ongoing repression of Native Americans resisting the pipeline.
RED POWER MEDIA 