Protesters pushed back after mass arrests at North Dakota pipeline site – as it happened

At the protest is a mixture of police and private security, some of the latter of whom are watching events unfold:

Morton County sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier has slammed Native American protesters and their supporters in a new statement that appears to be a response to actor Mark Ruffalo, who is backing the Standing Rock Sioux tribe:

Morton County has entrusted me to uphold the law and that is exactly what I intend to do. Yet I am being asked by outsiders and millionaire Hollywood actors to let agitators and rioters walk onto private property, destroy equipment, and endanger lives. And, so-called environmentalists are asking me to turn my head and allow this to happen. We have patrolled the county and enforced the law because our number one priority is public safety, separating the unlawful actors from legal protesters. This is not about the pipeline. This is not about those who wish to legally protest. This is about the rule of law.

Here’s Ruffalo at the Dakota Access pipeline demonstration earlier this week:

Police have made 16 arrests as of 3.30pm local time, Cecily Fong, spokeswoman for the state department of emergency services, told the Guardian.

Fong confirmed that police have also used pepper spray on activists, who have been standing their ground and refusing to back down as police close in on the demonstration at the Dakota Access pipeline site. Fong said state officials are “hopeful” that police can clear the area of protesters, at which point the pipeline operator, Energy Transfer Partners, would be responsible for security.

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“They were given a warning that they were free to go,” she said, adding, “The pipeline company will secure that site since it’s their property.”

Fong claimed that the protesters had become violent, but the activists have repeatedly argued that police have been the aggressors. Fong said she believes the company would allow activists to return to the site to retrieve their teepees. She added:

Our intent from the beginning here is that no one gets seriously hurt. We’ve shown a lot of patience and discretion.

Police are currently attempting to push protesters up the street and away from the construction site.

Atsa E’sha Hoferer is currently streaming the events on Facebook Live:

Rose Stiffarm, a cinematographer and member of six Native American nations including the Chippewa Cree, has been at the protest camp for a month.

She just spoke to the Guardian over the phone from the the protest over the noise of police loud-hailers and the sound of protesters chanting “Mni Wiconi”, which means “water is life” in the Lakota dialect.

“I’m on the front lines right now,” Stiffarm said. “They just fired some rounds of tear-gas or something - it’s hard to tell.”

We are innocent people; women, children, and elders. The government is attacking us for protesting, for protecting the water.

Asked to describe what she was seeing, she said:

I’m on the road right now ... right now we’re probably at least 100 protectors here, and about the same amount of police. There’s military vehicles that are armored, pipeline workers here surrounding us in addition to police.

They have these noise-things that are meant to deafen us, the volume is increasing. There’s some people here wearing eyewear and ear-protection ... I saw a person of the press pepper-sprayed because they have a camera - they are targeting press right now.

Actor Mark Ruffalo, who traveled to North Dakota to support the pipeline protests, said he observed that police were “very, very aggressive” in an interview on CNN.

He continued:

The mantra of the place is it’s not the police, it’s the pipeline that we’re protesting or protecting ourselves against. They spend basically the entire day doing prayers, chanting. I’ve never been around so peaceful a stand. It’s led by young people.

Unicorn Riot, an independent media organization who have been reporting on the ground at the protests since they began in April, captured this picture which appears to show a tribal elder in ceremonial dress being arrested at the protest:

There are also reports that pepper spray is being deployed:

Tensions are escalating at the standoff between police and protesters at the Dakota Access pipeline. Video feed from Atsa E’sha Hoferer, one of the Facebook live-streams with the most viewers today, just captured police making a number of threats to activists if they don’t back down and return to a camp farther away. An officer said:

You are going to get pepper-sprayed if you are on top of the pickup ... Do not approach officers. You will be arrested ... We are not coming down there. We are not coming to your main camp. You can send a liaison.

Hoferer said on the stream:

They are surrounding us now ... They have their batons out ready to hurt us.

In early September, activists opposing the $3.8bn oil pipeline held solidarity protests in more than 100 cities across the US and around the world. People gathered at rallies in New York City, Los Angeles and London to support the Standing Rock Sioux.

We asked you to share your photos of demonstrations via GuardianWitness. Esperanza Gutierrez captured scenes in San Diego. You can see more contributions and submit your own.

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Authorities closing in on Dakota Access pipeline protesters have begun making arrests, a spokeswoman for the local sheriff just told the Guardian.

“They’re pushing us off of this land. But we’re not budging,” Atsa E’sha Hoferer said on a Facebook live-stream, capturing the commotion of loud helicopters and sirens in the background. “Everybody ... needs to get here now. We need you here today.”

The spokeswoman said she was not immediately able to confirm how many arrests have taken place.

The Associated Press also just reported that officers are now converging on the camp from two directions, threatening arrest on loudspeakers. Some activists are defying commands and others are taking part in prayer circles.