Published March 16, 2017
The Latest on the closing of a protest encampment near the Dakota Access pipeline construction site in North Dakota (all times local):
8:15 a.m.
One of the Dakota Access pipeline opponents still at a camp on federal land that was closed by North Dakota authorities says the protesters are committed to staying.
Ed Higgins, from Lowell, Massachusetts, says Lakota elders will call for a meeting with law enforcement to state their belief that the camp is on land that rightfully belongs to Native Americans.
Authorities closed the camp Wednesday ahead of spring flooding, and most protesters left peacefully then.
Higgins says 200 people remain in large tents at the camp, and "haven't come out to show our faces."
Gov. Doug Burgum says only between 25 and 50 people remain. He has encouraged them to leave without the need for arrest, and says authorities are willing to talk with anyone.
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12:05 a.m.
Public officials in North Dakota are pleading with the remaining protesters at the Dakota Access oil pipeline camp to pack up and leave so authorities can resume cleaning up the premises without any further arrests.
Most of the campers marched out of the area ahead of a Wednesday deadline to get off the federal land, and authorities arrested 10 people who defied the order in a final show of dissent. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says none of the law enforcement officers left the main highway outside the camp.
Burgum says between 25 and 50 people are left at the camp. He says they will "have every opportunity" to leave without getting arrested.
The governor says the ongoing cleanup at the camp is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/the-latest-last-protesters-say-theyre-committed-to-staying