"Dakota Pipeline Protest Camp Nearly Empty As Holdouts Face Removal"

"CANNON BALL, N.D. -- All but a few dozen of the last holdouts from a months-long mass protest against a proposed oil pipeline in North Dakota peacefully vacated their riverside camp as an eviction deadline passed on Wednesday.

'We've very firm that the camp is now closed,' Governor Doug Burgum, a Republican, told an evening news conference.

Following Wednesday's exodus, Burgum estimated there were 25 to 50 protesters left. He said they were still free to leave voluntarily so long as they did not interfere with cleanup crews scheduled to enter the site at 9 a.m. on Thursday."

Terray Sylvester reports for Reuters February 23, 2017.

SEE ALSO:

"Protesters Leave Dakota Access Pipeline Area; Some Stay And Are Arrested" (NPR)

"Law Enforcement Arrests Nine For Trespassing" (Bismarck Tribune)

"Protest Camp Ends With Ceremony, Fire" (Bismarck Tribune)

"Protest Camp Sees Final Act" (Bismarck Tribune)