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Deadline day for Dakota Access Pipeline protesters

Law enforcement will evict the remaining protesters at a North Dakota camp this afternoon. (WEDNESDAY)

thousands of protesters gathered near the Standing Rock reservation over several months hoping to stop the Dakota Access pipeline. the pipeline is soon to be completed and spring flooding threatens the camp.

Stuart Perkins is Ojibwe from Minneapolis. He's been at the camp since October and won't leave on his own.

"Are they going to have to carry me out? Most likely. I'm staying til the bitter end.  I believe in the Standing Rock people that are here that still want this fight."

While the Oceti Sakowin camp is being dismantled, three new protest camps sprang up nearby.

Police plan to evict protesters, North Dakota State Patrol Lieutenant Tom Iverson says he expects most protesters to leave peacefully, but he's concerned some will resist the eviction.

"What drastic measures are they willing to go to in order to stay in this area or put up a fight? That's something that is very concerning to law enforcement."

Some protesters say they will form a prayer circle to wait for police. A police spokesman says some protesters have requested what he called "ceremonial arrests".

(Courtesy Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public Radio.)

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