DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of North Dakota

For Immediate Release

Thursday, May 31, 2018
Christopher C. Myers
, United States Attorney
Contact: Terry W. Van Horn

New Mexico Man Sentenced for Civil Disorder During the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) Project Protest

BISMARCK – United States Attorney Christopher C. Myers announced that on May 30, 2018, Chief United States District Judge Daniel L. Hovland sentenced Michael Arthur Giron, a/k/a Little Feather, age 45, of New Mexico, on charges of Civil Disorder during the DAPL protest in October 2016. Judge Hovland sentenced Giron to serve 3 years in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was further ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.
 
On October 27, 2016, law enforcement officials began an effort to remove individuals protesting the DAPL project at a location where protesters had erected an illegal roadblock on Highway 1806, south of Mandan, ND, and who were criminally trespassing on private property. Law enforcement gave advisements over a loudspeaker system asking people to voluntarily leave the roadway and to travel back to the protest camps. Some individuals at this location ignored the orders of law enforcement, and placed barricades on the roadway and set them on fire. Several clashes broke out between law enforcement and the protesters. One of the clashes occurred at a makeshift barricade built by the protesters that blocked Highway 1806. Michael Giron aided the civil disorder by adding materials to the barricade across Highway 1806 and was observed pouring what appeared to be Coleman camping fuel on a fire in the area of straw bales. This was done in an effort to obstruct and impede law enforcement’s movement.
 
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE); North Dakota Highway Patrol; North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI); North Dakota State and Local Intelligence Center (NDSLIC); and the Morton County Sheriff’s Office.
 
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hagler.
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St. Paul Field Division