Indigenous Prayer Leader Arrested Ahead of Bayou Bridge Pipeline Protests

Deputies arrested a journalist and an Indigenous prayer leader as they were heading to protest in Louisiana.

Activists have been protesting the Bayou Bridge Pipeline, which is slated to run through the bayous of Louisiana. It’s part of the same network of pipelines that were in dispute at Standing Rock.

Activists with the L’Eau Est La Vie camp in Louisiana say they were on public land near the bayou when St. Martin Parish deputies arrested journalist Karen Savage claiming there was a warrant out for her arrest. Indigenous activist Anne White Hat was also arrested right after leading a prayer ceremony. Police said they also had a warrant for White Hat’s arrest.

In the footage, deputies don’t give any details about the warrants. According to the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, Savage and White Hat were charged with unauthorized entry of a critical infrastructure.

Louisiana recently enacted a law that made trespassing on a pipeline a felony offense. It’s unclear whether the arrests were based on the new law.

In a Facebook post, camp co-founder and Indigenous activist Cherri Foytlin said she was also violently arrested and charged with three felonies as well as several misdemeanors for protesting in early September. The camp says Savage and White Hat were later released on bond.

Despite “targeted attacks” from the Sheriff’s Office, Savage says she’s “not going to stop reporting” on the pipeline.