THOUSANDS OF VETERANS ARE HEADING TO THE SITE OF
PROTEST LEADER CODE ACCESS PIPELINE.
2000 VETERANS HAVE ALREADY SIGNED UP, AND WE'RE GOING
TO GIVE YOU ALL THE DETAILS.
NOW, THE CURRENT CAMPSITE CAN ONLY HOLD THAT MANY,
UNFORTUNATELY, BUT ABOUT 1000
ADDITIONAL VETERANS WILL BE HEADING THERE AT SOME POINT.
THERE WILL BE SOME ROTATION, I WAS A COUPLE HAVE LIVES
THEY NEED TO LIVE.
THE VETERANS PLAN TO SET UP ON DECEMBER 4
AND STAY AT LEAST THROUGH DECEMBER 7,
ALTHOUGH SOME PLAN TO STAY THERE INDEFINITELY AT STANDING ROCK.
WHEN IT BE COOL IF WE HAD ONE OF THOSE VETERANS HERE?
MAYBE GIVE US A LITTLE BACKGROUND INFORMATION
ABOUT THE PLAN?
OH, THAT GUY.
MICHAEL, WHAT IS THIS?
BY THE WAY, NOT JUST ONE OF THE GUYS GOING, HE'S ONE OF THE
CORE ORGANIZERS, ALONG WITH WES CLARK.
THE FIRST THING IS, IT'S REALLY NOT ABOUT WES OR I IN ANY
SHAPE OR FORM.
YES WE ARE THE STRUCTURE AND THE ORGANIZATION OF THIS, BUT
WE ARE PULLING BACK VERY INTENTIONALLY AT THIS POINT
IN TIME TO LET THE TRIBES SPEAK, AND ALL OF THE MEDIA WILL
BE DIRECTED TOWARDS THE VOICE OF THESE PEOPLE.
THE POINT OF THE CAVALRY IS TO SUPPORT THE VOICES OF THE
PEOPLE, NOT WHAT THE OLIGARCHY WANTS THEIR SOLDIERS AND
VETERANS TO DO.
THESE GUYS AND GIRLS FEEL LIKE THEY ARE REALLY SERVING FOR
THE FIRST TIME EVER.
WHEN THEY SWORE TO PROTECT AGAINST ALL ENEMIES FOREIGN
AND DOMESTIC, THEY REALLY MEANT IT.
AND THEN WE WENT AND FOUGHT IN FOREIGN WARS, WE REALIZE
THAT WASN'T REALLY OUR ENEMY.
AND THEN WE COME BACK HERE WE SEE THE ENEMY PUTTING UP IN
UNIFORMS, AND MONEY, AND AGENDAS TO BRING CAPITALISM TO MORE
AND MORE WHILE TAKING FROM THE BOTTOM, AND WE'RE FIGHTING
FOR THE BOTTOM.
WE'VE SHOWN A LOT OF FOOTAGE FROM THE PROTEST, WE'RE
GOING TO SHOW YOU SOME PRETTY SHOCKING FOOTAGE LATER ON TODAY.
WHEN YOU SAY FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC, A LOT OF PEOPLE SEE
THE CONTINUAL SHOWDOWNS, USUALLY
AT NIGHT, LONG LINES OF POLICE OFFICERS BEHIND BARBED WIRE WITH
SONIC CANNONS AND THINGS LIKE
THAT, AND YOU CANNOT HELP BUT SEE THAT AS A CLEAR ENEMY
TO THE PEOPLE STANDING BEHIND THAT LINE.
YOU HAVE THOUSANDS OF VETERANS JOINING THE PROTESTERS,
MAYBE THE COPS WILL BE SLOWER TO RESORT TO VIOLENCE, AND
MAYBE THE MEDIA WILL PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT'S GOING ON.
THEY'VE BEEN SO HESITANT TO EVEN MENTION THE EXISTENCE OF
THE PROTESTS AFTER SIX OR SEVEN MONTHS OF THEM GOING ON.
I THINK CNN SENT A REPORTER.
I HONESTLY THINK THAT'S BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS.
WE'VE BEEN THERE SINCE THE BEGINNING, THE YOUNG TURKS,
JORDAN CHARITON HAS GONE THERE ABOUT FIVE TIMES, HE'S THERE
NOW, HE CANCELED THE VACATION BECAUSE HE FOUND OUT YOU GUYS
WERE GOING.
CHRIS, PART OF OUR PITTSBURGH TEAM, ALSO A VETERAN, HE'S GOING
TO BE JOINING YOU GUYS AND HIS TRAINER WILL ALSO BE THERE, SO A
LOT OF TYT GUYS.
BUT I THINK YOU GUYS BROKE THROUGH MICHAEL.
ALL OF A SUDDEN I SEE THE NEW YORK TIMES COVERING IT, CNN
COVERING IT.
I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO SAY WE BROKE IT THROUGH.
US GETTING INVOLVED, WE HAD TO HAVE EVERY PROTESTER AND
WATER PROTECTOR THAT WAS THERE GETTING PEPPER SPRAYED AND
BEING SHOT WITH RUBBER BULLETS.
I MEAN, THEY ARE THE ONES WHO GOT US HERE.
THE YOUNG WOMAN WHO TOOK THE SHRAPNEL TO THE ON FROM A
CONCUSSION GRENADE, THESE ARE THE REASONS WE ARE THERE, SO
IT'S ESCALATION, AND MAYBE WE ARE THAT FINAL THING BECAUSE
IT'S THE COALESCING OF
EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG.
WE'RE SHOWING WHAT'S WRONG ñ IF YOU'RE A LIBERTARIAN, YOU KNOW,
THEY'RE TRYING TO TAKE YOUR LAND AND TAKE YOUR RIGHTS AWAY.
IF YOU'RE CONSERVATIVE, THEY ARE SPENDING AFTER NOMINAL
AMOUNTS OF MONEY FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GETTING PROFITS
INTO THOSE FUEL PEOPLE WHO ARE IN ON THE PIPELINE.
IS NOW THE PIPELINE IS BUILT, SO THERE'S NO NEW JOBS, AND
YOU ARE TAKING JOBS DIRECTLY AWAY FROM THE TRUCK DRIVERS
WHO ARE TRANSPORTING THAT WILL SAFELY RIGHT NOW.
SO YOU ARE LITERALLY TAKING JOBS AWAY TO TAKE ALL THAT MONEY AND
PUT IT INTO DEEP POCKETS OF THE FEW PEOPLE.
IF YOU ARE A PROGRESSIVE, YOU MUST BE UPSET ABOUT THE
PLANET AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
SO WE ARE BRINGING ALL OF THE MOVEMENTS THAT ARE ALLOVER
THE COUNTRY, AND THEY ARE COMING HERE BECAUSE IT IS SO CLEAR.
I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT OBJECTIVES FOR ONE SECOND,
BUT THERE WAS ONE OTHER SET OF FOLKS WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE AND
I DON'T WANT TO BE HOKEY HERE, BUT IT'S YOU GUYS, TYT MEMBERS.
THE WASN'T FOR YOU, WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HIRE JORDAN,
AND HE WOULD NOT HAVE GONE OUT
THERE TO INTERVIEW SHAYLENE WOODLEY.
HE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO AFFORD THE DRONE TO GET THE
AERIAL SHOTS, TO SHOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING.
SO THANK YOU, BECAUSE YOU MADE THAT HAPPEN.
WE'RE DOING THE SAME BATTLE, SO AS YOU GET MEMBERS, THOSE
MEMBERS LISTEN TO ME A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN WE GET MORE
MONEY, AND THEN THE MORE MONEY WE GET WE'RE SUPPORTING.
THESE ARE ALL THE SAME FIGHTS, STANDING UP FOR THE OPPRESSED.
YOU GUYS ARE FUNDING US TO GO OUT THERE AND DO WHAT YOU
NEED DONE.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE JOBS AND YOU HAVE THINGS YOU
NEED TO TAKE CARE OF.
WE'RE GOING TO STEP UP, AND WHETHER IT'S PROGRESSIVE
NEWS OR GOING OUT TO FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS, YOU GUYS ARE
MAKING THIS HAPPEN.
REAL QUICK, IF YOU DON'T KNOW, AND IT SEEMS LIKE NOW MOST OF
THE COUNTRY KNOWS, MICHAEL AND
WES'S SITE, GOFUNDME SITE, IT IS TO FIND THE VETERANS GOING OUT
THERE, IT'S THE NUMBER ONE PAGE ON GOFUNDME.COM.
SO YOU CAN GO AND CONTRIBUTE.
ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THE VETERANS GOING IS IT
SHORT-CIRCUITS THE NARRATIVE OF,
JUST THE PROTESTERS GETTING IN THE WAY OF A PIPELINE.
AND IT'S, WHY SHOULD WE BE AGAINST THE PROTESTERS?
NOW THERE'S VETERANS THERE, IT DOESN'T FIT IN A NORMAL
PARADIGM OF THE THOUGHT THAT TRIES TO GET PUSHED FORWARD.
O THEY ARE UNRULY, THEY ARE TRYING TO GET IN THE WAY.
YOU GOT MILITARIZED POLICE PROTECTING AN INANIMATE
OBJECT, A PIPELINE, AGAINST THE PEOPLE THEY'VE SWORN TO PROTECT.
THIS IS ALMOST IDENTICAL TO THE PLOT LINE OF AVATAR, THE
MOST SUCCESSFUL MOVIE EVER MADE.
YET THE MEDIA CAN'T SEE IT, THAT'S NOT AN INTERESTING STORY.
IT'S THE SAME STORY AS THE NUMBER ONE MOVIE IN WORLD
HISTORY.
NOBODY WILL FIND THAT INTERESTING.
AND YOU ARE RIGHT LEE, I THINK THE VETERANS GOT THEM TO RETHINK
IT FOR A SECOND, BECAUSE THEY ARE USED TO THEIR PARADIGM START
AND USUALLY HIDE BEHIND VETERANS
WITHOUT EVEN ASKING THEM.
USUALLY THEY ARE LIKE, OH YOU'RE DOING A PROTEST, HOW DARE YOU?
VETERANS DIED THAT WAY, HOW DID YOU NOT STAND?
ETC.
BUT THESE ARE ACTUAL VETERANS, 2000 PLEDGED, OR MORE RIGHT?
THERE WERE MORE, I HAD TO SAY STOP AT 2000 BECAUSE I
DIDN'T KNOW HOW WE WERE GOING TO DEAL WITH ALL THESE PEOPLE.
WE HAD TO CUT IT OFF SOMEWHERE, SO THAT'S WHERE WE DREW THE
LINE AS MANAGEABLE.
THAT'S QUITE A FEW, STILL, DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT THAT.
AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, PART OF IT IS THAT IT IS HARD TO
FIT MORE THAN 2000 AT A TIME IN THE ENCAMPMENT THAT IS THERE.
AGAIN, PEOPLE CAN ROTATE THROUGH AND HOPEFULLY THAT WILL
HAPPEN AS IT DEVELOPS.
SUNDAY AND MONDAY THIS A LOT OF ACTION THAT'S GOING ON,
TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT YOUR OBJECTIVE IS MICHAEL.
OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO ACTUALLY SERVE THE PEOPLE.
SO, WHILE WE HAVE DIFFERENT MOTIVATIONS FOR BEING THERE ñ
THERE WAS THIS ONE STORY I HEARD FROM A GUY WHO WAS IN OUR GROUP,
HE GOT A PHONE CALL FROM HIS FRIEND WHO WAS IN THE NATIONAL
GUARD, TO TELL HIM LIKE, DUDE, I JUST GOT CALLED UP AND I'M
GOING TO BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PROTEST.
SO THEY HAD TO SIT THERE AND HAVE A CONVERSATION, BECAUSE
HE'S COMING UP AND HE'S GOING TO BE ON OUR SIDE, WHERE HE NEVER
THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO BE, AND HIS FRIEND IS GOING TO BE ON THE
OTHER SIDE, WHERE HE THOUGHT HE WAS NEVER GOING TO BE, AND THEY
ARE BOTH LIKE, THEY BOTH KNOW WHICH SIDE IS THE RIGHT SIDE.
THAT REMINDED ME, ONE OF OUR VIEWERS SENT AN EMAIL ñ I'LL
LEAVE OUT THE NAMES BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GET INTO TROUBLE
ñ SAYING THAT ONE OF THE, THEY KNOW ONE OF THE COPS THAT IS
SERVING, TRYING TO NOW, YOU KNOW, HOLD THAT THE
PROTESTERS, AND THEY WERE THINKING ABOUT ñ
AND HE SAID, NOT ONLY IS HE THINKING ABOUT RESIGNING,
BUT SEVERAL OF THE COPS THERE ARE THINKING OF RESIGNING.
BECAUSE UNDERNEATH ALL OF THAT MILITARIZED GARB, THEY ARE
HUMAN BEINGS.
THEY ARE JUST LIKE US, THEY ARE AMERICAN CITIZENS.
ONE ALREADY RESIGNED, ONE FROM WISCONSIN, HE WAS BROUGHT IN,
AND THEY BRING THEM IN TO HELP IN CASES OF NATURAL DISASTERS
ñ THIS IS NOT THAT ñ AND A LOT OF THEM HAVE PULLED BACK NOW.
MONTANA HAS PULLED BACK THERE COPS, MINNESOTA HAS PULLED
BACK THERE COPS, SO THAT ONE POLICE OFFICER RESIGNED.
YOU ARE A FORMER POLICE OFFICER.
SO ALL OF A SUDDEN I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE MORE OF THEM ON OUR
SIDE, EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY.
WE HAD A HARD TIME SWALLOWING THIS, WE ARE PESSIMISTS WHO
THINK WE ARE NEVER GOING TO GET ANYWHERE, AND WE ARE
SUCCEEDING, AND I HAVE A HARD TIME SWALLOWING THAT.
AS I'M SITTING THERE, THE MEDIA, WHAT OUR MEMBERS WERE
SAYING, IS NOT ABOUT US, IT'S ABOUT THE VOICE OF THE
PEOPLE, I JUST WANT TO SERVE THE PEOPLE.
I HAD TEARS RUNNING DOWN MY FACE SITTING ON TWITTER AT TWO
IN THE MORNING, OH MY GOD WE'RE NOT ALONE.