The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
January 6, 2017

North Dakota: Water Protector Opposing Pipeline Resists Grand Jury
------------------------------------------------------------------

In North Dakota, a water protector opposing the $3.8 billion Dakota
Access pipeline says he's willing to go to jail on contempt charges
rather than give testimony to a federal grand jury. On Wednesday, a
federal judge threw out a motion by Steve Martinez to quash a subpoena
ordering him to testify about injuries to Sophia Wilansky, a water
protector whose arm was severely wounded during a police crackdown on
November 20. Martinez has been ordered to testify on February 1. He says
he believes the grand jury is a fishing expedition aimed at forcing him
to list the names of other activists opposing the Dakota Access
pipeline.

Steve Martinez: "February 1st, I am looking at contempt, because I'm not
going to cooperate with this. And I just think it's just a way for them
to bully me into giving names and helping them out. I don't want to lose
my freedom at all, but it's a small price to pay."



.