The Daily Fuckup

The Justice Department on June 11 finalized a settlement in North Dakota v. United States, ending a case over the state’s costs from policing Dakota Access Pipeline protests that erupted in 2016 and 2017. In its announcement, the department said it still disputes the district court’s legal analysis of North Dakota’s claims and the federal government’s defenses under the Federal Tort Claims Act, but acknowledged that, in hindsight, the government could have done more to reduce the impacts on North Dakotans. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-final-settlement-north-dakota-v-united-states))

North Dakota said the settlement will bring in more than $27.8 million for law enforcement and other protest-related costs, after a previously paid $10 million. Gov. Kelly Armstrong called the deal long overdue and said it shifts the financial burden away from state taxpayers and onto the federal government. ([governor.nd.gov](https://www.governor.nd.gov/news/armstrong-statement-nd-receiving-278m-dapl-costs-settlement-federal-government))

The payment closes one chapter of the fallout from the Standing Rock protest era, when demonstrators, police and federal officials were locked in months of clashes around the pipeline route. DOJ said the protests sometimes rose to the level of unlawfulness and confrontational violence, while also saying the settlement is meant to give the parties some closure and let them move forward. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-final-settlement-north-dakota-v-united-states))