Red Fawn Fallis sentenced to nearly five years for #NoDAPL incident

Friday, July 13, 2018

Red Fawn Fallis, a citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison in connection with a non-fatal gun shooting incident during the #NoDAPL protests in North Dakota.

Fallis pleaded guilty to one count of civil disorder and one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. She admitted she fired a gun three times during an October 2016 clash between law enforcement and opponents of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline.

"Red Fawn is a political prisoner. She stood up for justice, against environmental genocide, encroachment of our land and water," a support page on Facebook read.

No one was injured during the incident, which took place in Morton County. But the U.S. Attorney's Office said Fallis refused orders to move off private property.

Fallis was sentenced to 57 months for the crime, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. She will receive 17 months credit for time served, so her prison term will run a little over 3 years.

Fallis has been in custody for 20 months, but 3 months was taken off because she violated conditions of her pretrial release. According to court records, she went missing for nearly an entire day while she was being held a halfway house.

The Dakota Access Pipeline became fully operational in June 2017 after the Trump administration approved the final portion in North Dakota. A federal judge later determined that the decision was made without considering all of the impacts on treaty rights, water resources and the environment.

Despite the ruling, the 1,200-mile pipeline continues to ship oil through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has yet to produce a revised analysis of the final crossing -- it's now expected "no later than August 10," according to a recent court filing.

Read More on the Story:
Standing Rock activist accused of firing at police gets nearly five years in prison (The Associated Press July 11, 2018)
Federal judge orders 57 months in prison for Red Fawn Fallis (The Bismarck Tribune June 11, 2018)
Red Fawn Fallis sentenced in DAPL protest case (KYFR July 11, 2018)