Standing Rock: arson accusation renews fear of police targeting military veterans
Source: The Guardian
Standing Rock: arson accusation renews fear of police targeting military veterans
Navy veteran under suspicion for arson says claim is unfounded
and an attempt at bullying by North Dakota police: ‘I am here for
peaceful reasons’
Sam Levin in San Francisco
Friday 3 March 2017 00.52 GMT
North Dakota police have accused a US veteran of arson at Standing Rock, renewing concerns that law enforcement is targeting former service members for prosecution.
Police on Thursday said that Sean Sullivan was a “possible arson suspect” and sent out a photo taken from his Facebook page of him standing near a burning structure at the main encampment at Standing Rock, which officers evicted last week.
Sullivan, a 35-year-old navy veteran from San Diego, who returned home from Standing Rock on Monday, had not heard he was a suspect until a Guardian reporter called him on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s just completely unfounded,” said Sullivan, who was part of a group called VeteransRespond that recently traveled to North Dakota to assist the remaining Native American activists demonstrating against the Dakota Access pipeline. “It’s intimidating. They’re just trying to bully me around. Everyone knows I didn’t start that.”
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/02/standing-rock-military-veteran-arson-police-north-dakota
