title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On September 3, 2016, the Dakota Access Pipeline brought in a private security firm when the company used bulldozers to dig up part of the pipeline route that contained possible burial sites and culturally significant artifacts; it was subject to a pending injunction motion. The bulldozers arrived within a day after Standing Rock Sioux filed legal action. Energy Transfer bulldozers cut a two-mile (3200 m) long, 150-foot (45 m) wide path through the contested area.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: When protesters crossed the perimeter fence onto private property to stop the bulldozers, they were confronted with pepper spray and guard dogs. At least six protesters were treated for dog bites, and an estimated 30 were pepper-sprayed before the guards and their dogs left the scene in trucks. A woman that had taken part in the incident stated, "The cops watched the whole thing from up on the hills. It felt like they were trying to provoke us into being violent when we're peaceful." The incident was filmed by Amy Goodman and a crew from "Democracy Now!" Footage shows several people with dog bites and a dog with blood on its muzzle.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Frost Kennels of Hartville, Ohio, acknowledged that they were involved in the incident on September 3. Executive director for Private Investigator Security Guard Services, Geoff Dutton, said Frost Kennels and its owner, Bob Frost, were not licensed by the state of Ohio to provide security services or guard dogs. Morton County Sheriff, Kyle Kirchmeier, said they were investigating both sides in the incident, including wounds inflicted by the dogs, and that they had no prior knowledge of the use of dogs until a 9-1-1 call was made. When asked why the deputies who witnessed the incident did not intervene, Kirchmeier cited officer security concerns, and stated that it was "more like a riot than a protest" and that there was an investigation into "the incident and individuals who organized and participated in this unlawful event."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: After viewing footage of the attack, a law enforcement consultant who trains police dogs called it "absolutely appalling" and "reprehensible". "Taking bite dogs and putting them at the end of a leash to intimidate, threaten and prevent crime is not appropriate." A former K-9 officer for the Grand Forks Police Department who now owns a security firm that uses dogs for drug detection said, "It reminded me of the civil rights movement back in the '60s. I didn't think it was appropriate. They were overwhelmed and it just wasn't proper use of the dogs."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: The American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota spoke out against the use of dogs and pepper spray and asked that the state officials "treat everyone fairly and equally." Speaking on September 4, Ojibwe activist and former Green Party vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke said, "North Dakota regulators are really, I would say, in bed with the oil industry and so they have looked the other way."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: As of mid-October, there had been over 140 arrests. Some protesters who were arrested for misdemeanors and taken to the Morton County jail reported what they considered harsh and unusual treatment. Sara Jumping Eagle, a physician on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, said that she was required to remove all of her clothing and "squat and cough" when she was arrested for disorderly conduct. In another such case, LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, who founded Sacred Stone Camp, said that when her daughter was arrested and taken into custody she was "strip-searched in front of multiple male officers, then left for hours in her cell, naked and freezing." Cody Hall from Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota also reported being strip-searched. He was held for four days without bail or bond and then charged with two misdemeanors.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Actress Shailene Woodley, arrested on October 10 along with 27 others, also said she was strip-searched, adding, "Never did it cross my mind that while trying to protect clean water, trying to ensure a future where our children have access to an element essential for human survival, would I be strip-searched. I was just shocked." Amnesty International spoke out against the use of strip searches and said that they had sent a letter to the Morton County Sheriff's Department expressing concern about the degree of force used against people taking part in the protests. They sent a delegation of human rights observers to monitor law enforcement's response to the protests.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Protesters said they were blasted with high-pitched sound cannons and described being held in cages that "appeared to be" dog kennels, in the garage of the Morton County Correctional Center, with identifying numbers written on their arms by the arresting officers. One of the arrestees, Floris White Bull, said - “We were caged in dog kennels and sat on the floor and we were marked with numbers,” she said. “My mind, I couldn’t wrap it around the fact that this is happening today. This isn’t something that we’re reading in history books.”


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In December 2016, it was reported by Charlie May that Dakota Access LLC had hired the firm TigerSwan to provide security during the protest. In May 2017, internal TigerSwan documents leaked to "The Intercept" and other documents obtained through public records requests revealed a close collaboration between the pipeline company and local, state, and federal law enforcement as they carried out "military-style counterterrorism measures" to suppress the protesters. TigerSwan also collected information used to assist prosecutors in building cases against protesters, and used social media in an attempt to sway public support for the pipeline. One of the released documents called the pipeline opposition movement "an ideologically driven insurgency with a strong religious component" that operated along a "jihadist insurgency model". "The Intercept" reported that "Energy Transfer Partners has continued to retain TigerSwan long after most of the anti-pipeline campers left North Dakota, and the most recent TigerSwan reports emphasize the threat of growing activism around other pipeline projects across the country."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On October 27, 2016 police from several agencies, including North Dakota state troopers, the National Guard, and other law enforcement agencies from surrounding states, began an intensive operation to clear out a protest camp and blockades along Highway 1806. The Morton County Sheriff's Department said in a statement: "Protesters' escalated unlawful behavior this weekend by setting up illegal roadblocks, trespassing onto private property and establishing an encampment, has forced law enforcement to respond at this time. I can't stress it enough, this is a public safety issue. We cannot have protesters blocking county roads, blocking state highways, or trespassing on private property."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: A "Seattle Times" journalist present at the confrontation described it as "scary". On the "PBS Newshour", she said that she had spent the previous night in the camp "with tribal members who were singing their death songs. I mean, they were very worried about the possibility of violence. And who wouldn't be? You have seen law enforcement marshaled from six states, armored personnel carriers, hundreds and hundreds of law enforcement officers with concussion grenades, mace, Tasers, batons. And they used all of it. I mean, it was frightening to watch." She said that the confrontation ended the following day and said, "the law enforcement officers had advance[d] more than 100 yards with five armored personnel carriers side by side, hundreds of law enforcement officers advancing on them. And it finally took an elder to actually walk by himself in between the two lines, stand there, face his people, and say: 'Go home. We're here to fight the pipeline, not these people, and we can only win this with prayer.'"


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza contrasted the aggressive police action with the treatment of the organizers of a standoff at an Oregon wildlife refuge (acquitted of federal charges on the same day as the police raid of the camp), saying "If you're white, you can occupy federal property ... and get found not guilty. No teargas, no tanks, no rubber bullets ... If you're indigenous and fighting to protect our earth, and the water we depend on to survive, you get tear gassed, media blackouts, tanks and all that."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On the evening of November 20, protesters attempted to open Backwater Bridge on Highway 1806, which had been blocked since October 27. The bridge is about a mile (1600 m) south of where the pipeline developer plans to drill. According to the sheriff's department, the bridge was closed for safety reasons "due to damage caused after protesters set numerous fires" on it on October 27. But the protesters believe that the police used the closure to "lock [them] in" and that the closure blocked access for emergency vehicles coming from the north.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: According to news reports, the police launched an attack on the protesters with water cannons in weather, along with teargas, rubber bullets, and concussion grenades, injuring hundreds. The police said the protesters had been "very aggressive" and that the water was used to put out multiple fires they had set, while the protesters said the fires were peaceful bonfires used to keep warm. A number of videos posted on social media show protesters being doused with continuous streams of water. Initially the Morton County Sheriff's Office said the water was used only to put out fires, but the following day Sheriff Kirchmeier corrected that statement, saying, "Some of the water was used to repel some of the protest activities" and adding that it was "sprayed more as a mist and we didn't want to get it directly on them but we wanted to make sure to use it as a measure to keep everybody safe."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: A woman's arm was seriously injured by what she and supporters claim was an explosive flash-bang grenade thrown by law enforcement, but which law enforcement suggest may have been an exploding propane canister. The victim's father stated in a press conference that his daughter had seen a police officer throw the explosive device directly at her as she was backing away. The Morton County Sheriff's Department denied using concussion grenades, and reported that protesters were throwing expended propane canisters at police during this period. Law enforcement, including the ATF and North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, are investigating the incident.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: By mid January 2017 the protest camp had dwindled to a few hundred people due to the construction work stoppage and harsh winter weather. Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault called for the camp to disband because of the weather and the possibility of contamination of the river with garbage and debris during the spring flood. He asked people to clean up the area and to leave. In January 2017, it was reported that the cost of policing the pipeline protests in North Dakota had surpassed $22 million. In February 2017, amid concerns that warmer weather would accelerate flooding of the area, removal of garbage and debris from the campsite began to prevent the contamination of the river. Archambault indicated that funds from the $6 million in donations the tribe received to support its fight would be used to clean up the garbage, building material and human waste at the camp. The tribe began coordinating cleanup of the site in January 2017.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On February 22, 2017, the protest site was cleared. Although many left voluntarily, ten people were arrested. On February 23, National Guard and law enforcement officers evicted the remaining protesters. Thirty-three people were arrested. After the protest site was abandoned, sanitation crews cleared garbage from the protest; this included abandoned cars and human waste. Also abandoned were 12 dogs. North Dakota Department of Emergency Services estimated that about 21 million pounds of garbage was removed; the cost of cleaning up the protest site was about $1 million.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On July 27, 2016, two days after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the Environmental Assessment with a finding of “no significant impact”, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, supported by EarthJustice, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to stop the pipeline. The tribe also sought a preliminary injunction.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On September 9, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg denied the motion, noting, "[T]he Corps has documented dozens of attempts to engage Standing Rock in consultations to identify historical resources at Lake Oahe and other PCN crossings...Suffice it to say that the Tribe largely refused to engage in consultations."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Later the same day, a joint statement was issued by the US Departments of Justice, Army, and Interior temporarily halting the project on federal land bordering or under the Lake Oahe reservoir. The US federal government asked the company for a "voluntary pause" on construction near that area until further study was done on the region extending 20 miles (32 km) around Lake Oahe. In closing the agency representatives said:


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Finally, we fully support the rights of all Americans to assemble and speak freely. In recent days, we have seen thousands of demonstrators come together peacefully, with support from scores of sovereign tribal governments, to exercise their First Amendment rights and to voice heartfelt concerns about the environment and historic, sacred sites. It is now incumbent on all of us to develop a path forward that serves the broadest public interest.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Energy Transfer Partners rejected the request to voluntarily halt construction on all surrounding private land and resumed construction within 48 hours.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On September 13, chairman and CEO of Energy Transfer Partners Kelcy Warren responded to the federal government's request, saying concerns about the pipeline's impact on the water supply were "unfounded." Warren said that "multiple archaeological studies conducted with state historic preservation offices found no sacred items along the route". They did not indicate that they would voluntarily cease work on the pipeline. Warren wrote that the company will meet with officials in Washington "to understand their position and reiterate our commitment to bring the Dakota Access Pipeline into operation."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On October 5, federal appeals judges heard arguments over whether to stop work on the pipeline; a ruling was not expected for several weeks. At that time the Army Corps of Engineers had not yet made a final decision on whether to grant an easement to build under the Missouri River. Under questioning, a pipeline attorney said that "if the court allowed it, the company would continue building up to the lake's edge even before the easement decision, because each extra month of delay will cost the company more than $80 million".


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On November 14, the Army Corps of Engineers said it needed more time to study the impact of the plan. In a news release, they said: "The Army has determined that additional discussion and analysis are warranted in light of the history of the Great Sioux Nation's dispossessions of lands, the importance of Lake Oahe to the Tribe, our government-to-government relationship, and the statute governing easements through government property."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Energy Transfer Partners responded by criticizing the Obama administration for "political interference" and said that "further delay in the consideration of this case would add millions of dollars more each month in costs which cannot be recovered." North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple criticized the decision saying the pipeline would be safe and that the decision was "long overdue". Craig Stevens, spokesman for the MAIN Coalition, a labor group, called the Corps's announcement "yet another attempt at death by delay" and said the Obama administration "has chosen to further fan the flames of protest by more inaction." North Dakota Senator John Hoeven said in a statement that the delay "will only prolong the disruption in the region caused by protests and make life difficult for everyone who lives and works in the area."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Speaking on the PBS Newshour on November 16, Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren responded to questions about the Tribe's two main concerns, damage to ancestral sites and the potential of water contamination if a leak occurred:


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Well, first of all, I think this is well known by now. We're not on any Indian property at all, no Native American property. We're on private lands. That's number one. Number two, this pipeline is new steel pipe. We're boring underneath Lake Oahe. It's going to go 90 feet to 150 feet (27.5-45.7 m) below the lake's surface. It's thick wall pipe, extra thick, by the way, more so than just the normal pipe that we lay. Also, on each side of the lake, there's automated valves that, if in the very, very unlikely situation there were to be a leak, our control room shuts down the pipe, encapsulates that small section that could be in peril. So, that's just not going to happen. Number one, we're not going to have a leak. I can't promise that, of course, but that — no one would get on airplanes if they thought they were going to crash. And, number two, there is no way there would be any crude contaminate their water supply. They're 70 miles (110 km) downstream.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On December 4, the Army announced that it would not grant an easement for the pipeline to be drilled under Lake Oahe. The announcement was made by the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), Jo-Ellen Darcy:


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it's clear that there's more work to do. The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: The White House's directive today to the Corps for further delay is just the latest in a series of overt and transparent political actions by an administration which has abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: As stated all along, ETP and SXL fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe. Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On January 24, 2017, newly elected President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing the pipeline's construction to proceed.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On February 8, 2017, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) granted Dakota Access, LLC an easement based on the Mineral Leasing Act to cross Lake Oahe and finish construction of the pipeline. On February 9, 2017, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe filed a motion for a restraining order citing Religious Freedom Restoration Act violations, claiming an oil spill would disrupt their ability to worship freely. This preliminary injunction was rejected on March 7, 2017. On February 14, 2017, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe filed a motion for summary judgment. The motion asked the Court to rule on unresolved legal questions concerning USACE, including the meeting of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements and the violation of Tribal treaty rights. The motion addressed three claims: 1) the lawful requirement of a full, transparent and public environmental review for any federal action that has "significant" environmental effects, 2) Tribal treaty rights that guarantee the integrity of their reservation, and 3) the reversal of decisions from the previous administration.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On June 14, 2017, Federal Judge James Boasberg issued his third opinion in the matter, ruling that the Corps permits authorizing the pipeline to cross the Missouri River "substantially complied with NEPA in many areas" but did not adequately consider certain aspects of the law. In a ninety-one page decision to remand the matter to the Corps for supplementation of the record, Judge Boasberg wrote, "the Court agrees that [the Corps] did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline's effects are likely to be highly controversial". Boasberg's decision came just weeks after crude oil had started pumping through the pipeline. Judge Boasberg asked the parties to submit legal briefs on the question of whether the Court should shut down the pipeline pending the completion of a lawful environmental review.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On August 7, 2017, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe filed a legal brief arguing in favor of pipeline shutdown during the environmental review process. The Tribes received support from law professors and practitioners, tribes and tribal organizations, and other amicus parties. The Court granted the Tribes' motion for summary judgment for three reasons. First, the Court held that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to address expert critiques of Dakota Access, LLC's oil spill risk analysis. Second, the Court found fault in USACE's disregard of impacts an oil spill would have on the Tribes' treaty rights to fish and hunt. Finally, the Court found that USACE conducted a skewed assessment that reached the conclusion that the selected site raised no environmental justice concerns. Under the Court's order, USACE will reassess these questions and come to a new decision on if a full environmental impact statement is required.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On October 11, 2017, the Court ruled that DAPL could continue to operate while USACE reassessed the environmental impact of the pipeline. While the Court did not find that shutting down the pipeline would cause a major economic disruption as claimed by DAPL, they refused to shut the pipeline down during the impact study due to the possibility that USACE would be able to justify its decision to not do a full environmental review. USACE predicts that the review will be finished by April 2018. Following the Court's finding a statement was issued by Earthjustice Attorney Jan Hasselman, who is representing the Tribe.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Today's decision is a disappointing continuation of a historic pattern: other people get all the profits, and the Tribes get all the risk and harm. The court already found that the Corps violated the law when it issued the permits without thoroughly considering the impact on the people of Standing Rock. The company should not be allowed to continue operating while the Corps studies that threat.,


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On December 4, 2017, following a 200,000 gallon Keystone pipeline oil spill in November 2017, Judge Boasberg imposed several interim measures over the ongoing operation of the Dakota Access pipeline.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: The Court ordered three measures, which had been requested by the Tribe. According to a report published by Earthjustice, a non-profit public interest law organization dedicated to environmental issues:


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: The Court ordered the Corps and DAPL to work with the Tribes to complete oil spill response plans at Lake Oahe. Up to now, the Tribe has been kept in the dark about spill response planning and was not involved in the process of developing plans to address spills at Lake Oahe. Second, the Court ordered an independent audit of DAPL's compliance with the permit conditions and standards. The Tribe has to be involved in the selection of an auditor. Finally, DAPL must file regular reports on any incidents or repairs on the pipeline. Such reporting is not currently required by law, which means the public does not learn about the nearly constant spills and leaks of oil that occur on major pipelines.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: The tribe sued and in March 2020 a federal judge sided with them and ordered USACE to do a full environmental impact statement. In a 42-page decision Judge James Boasberg said the environmental analysis by both the companies behind the pipeline and the Corps was severely lacking. “In projects of this scope, it is not difficult for an opponent to find fault with many conclusions made by an operator and relied on by the agency, but here, there is considerably more than a few isolated comments raising insubstantial concerns. The many commenters in this case pointed to serious gaps in crucial parts of the Corps’ analysis — to name a few, that the pipeline's leak-detection system was unlikely to work, that it was not designed to catch slow spills, that the operator's serious history of incidents had not been taken into account, and that the worst-case scenario used by the Corps was potentially only a fraction of what a realistic figure would be."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In July 2020, saying federal officials failed to carry out a complete analysis of its environmental impacts, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that the pipeline must be shut down by August 5 and remain shutdown while the Army Corps of Engineers conducts a more extensive environmental review than the one done that allowed the pipeline to begin transporting oil three years previously. Pipeline owner Energy Transfer said they would appeal. On August 5, the Court of Appeals sided with Energy Transfer to allow the pipeline to stay open, saying the lower-court judge "did not make the findings necessary for injunctive relief." However the appellate court did not grant Energy Transfer's motion to block the review, saying the company had "failed to make a strong showing of likely success."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: As of May 2021, the pipeline was granted legal permission to restart operations, on the grounds that the Standing Rock legal team had fail to demonstrate to the court "“likelihood of irreparable injury” from continued operation of the pipeline. Later, in July 2021, Boasberg ruled against the lawsuit filed by Standing Rock team against the operation of the pipeline. Despite ruling against the federal judge laid out how the Standing Rock Tribe might continue to challenge the ongoing environmental review. Boasberg also left the possibility of reopening the lawsuit if any of his previous rulings from the past five years were violated by the Corps or Energy Transfer.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Federal prosecutors brought indictments against at least five indigenous activists from the protests. Dion Ortiz, James "Angry Bird" White, Michael "Little Feather" Giron, and Michael "Rattler" Markus were all convicted of one count of civil disorder. Red Fawn Fallis was convicted of civil disorder and illegal possession of a gun by a convicted felon. The gun which she was convicted for possessing went off as she was being "tackled by police officers, who were attempting to put her in handcuffs [when] three gunshots allegedly went off alongside her. No one was injured in the shooting incident." She was given the largest sentencing of any protester at the time, having to be held in federal prison for four years and nine months. The judge who heard Red Fawn's case did not allow her defence team to cite her treaty rights or "other issues related to her arrest at anti-pipeline protests near the Standing Rock Sioux's Tribe's reservation border." In effect, Red Fawn accepted a plea deal as she believed that in withholding such important evidence, she would not have received a fair trial.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: James "Angry Bird" White was sentenced to serve twenty-four months of probation. The other five protesters were incarcerated in federal prison, Ortiz for 16 months, Giron and Markus for 36 months, and Fallis for 57 months. Many other activists argued that their incarceration was used to suppress indigenous opposition to the pipeline, stating that "[they are] political prisoners …We were protecting our land. It’s something we have to do, and we’re going to be met with this violence from these agencies, from the federal government, from the state.”


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On August 11–12, 18 more people were arrested, including Standing Rock Tribal Chairman David Archambault II who was charged with disorderly conduct. Along with the tribal council, Archambault had sued the Army Corps of Engineers days before his arrest. He was himself sued on August 16 by Dakota Access, LLC, which sought "restraining orders and unspecified monetary damages."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In 2019, Jessica Reznicek and Ruby Montoya were indicted on nine federal criminal charges, including setting 11 fires during the protests. The two set fire to machinery and tools and then used a torch to pierce the metal piping and valves. On June 30, 2021 Reznicek was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for a single count of damaging an energy facility. The remaining charges were dismissed.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On September 7 an arrest warrant was also issued in Morton County for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and her running mate Ajamu Baraka on misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Stein had spray-painted "I approve this message" and Baraka wrote the word "decolonize" on a bulldozer.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: A warrant for journalist Amy Goodman's arrest was issued by Morton County on September 8. She was charged with criminal trespass related to the filming done on September 3. The prosecutor, Ladd Erickson, said Goodman was like a protester because she was only giving time to the protesters' side of the story. In response to praise from Erickson, Matt Taibbi wrote, "a prosecutor who arrests a reporter because he doesn't think she's 'balanced' enough is basically telling future reporters what needs to be in their stories to avoid arrest. This is totally improper and un-American."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On October 1, Canadian journalist Ed Ou, on assignment with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to cover the protests, was detained at the US border for six hours, with his cell phones and other electronic media confiscated. Ou was eventually denied entry to the US without explanation. The American Civil Liberties Union requested that any data collected from Ou's electronic devices be destroyed and that he be given assurance that he would not be harassed again.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Speaking on October 5, Standing Rock Tribal Chairman David Archambault II said that as of that date 135 anti-pipeline demonstrators had been arrested. Archambault also said that law enforcement officers were "heightening the danger" by using anti-riot gear. Saying, "Confronting men, women, and children while outfitted in gear more suited for the battlefield is a disproportionate response", Amnesty International also expressed concern about the militant response to the protesters.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On October 13, Goodman announced her intention to turn herself in to the Morton County–Mandan Corrections Center on Monday, October 17, to face misdemeanor riot charges. (Though she had originally been charged with criminal trespass, the prosecutor said that there were "legal issues with proving the notice of trespassing requirements in the statute.") She stated that she would be fighting the charges against her as a First Amendment violation. The Committee to Protect Journalists, the North Dakota Newspaper Association, the American Civil Liberties Union in North Dakota, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation all expressed concern over the developing challenge to freedom of the press.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On October 17, District Judge John Grinsteiner did not find probable cause for multiple riot charges, including the one brought against Goodman. Following the judge's decision, Kirchmeier reasserted that trespassing would lead to arrest, while the state prosecutor said that the investigation would remain open pending new evidence.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: According to the Water Protector Legal Collective over 800 state criminal cases were brought by North Dakota prosecutors. Of these nearly 400 resulted in dismissals of charges, 42 ended in not-guilty verdicts at trial, nearly 200 were subjected to pre-trial diversion, and just 26 cases ended in convictions after trials. There are still 42 open cases before the state court.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In 2019 a federal court in North Dakota dismissed as unfounded a racketeering and defamation lawsuit filed by Energy Transfer Partners LP, the builder of the 1,000-mile Dakota Access Pipeline, against Greenpeace USA, EarthFirst and BankTrack for their pipeline protests. The lawsuit alleged Greenpeace USA misled the public with false claims about the Standing Rock Sioux tribes' sacred sites and the likelihood the pipeline would contaminate the Missouri River in North Dakota. In contrast, a 2018 Greenpeace report said Energy Transfer pipelines and those owned by the company's subsidiaries "spilled over 500 times in the last decade."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In response to the court's ruling of insufficient evidence, Tom Wetterer, general counsel to Greenpeace USA, said the ruling "sends a clear message to companies trying to muzzle civil society that corporate overreach will not be tolerated. It is also a check on corporate efforts to silence dissent.”


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: The Intercept online newspaper earlier reported Energy Transfer Partners hired the private security firm of TigerSwan to gather information for the lawsuit via fake social media accounts and infiltration of protest camps.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Many Sioux Tribes passed resolutions in support of Standing Rock, including the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Crow Creek Tribe, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Oklahoma tribes also expressed support for the pipeline protest movement. In August, Principal Chief Bill John Baker of the Cherokee Nation said, "As Indian people, we have a right to protect our lands and protect our water rights. That's our responsibility to the next seven generations."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Field reporter Jordan Chariton (of "The Young Turks"' on-the-road program "TYT Politics") was one of the most active journalists participating in the protests. He commented on the scant presence of journalists from mainstream networks such as CNN and MSNBC.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: ReZpect Our Water is an indigenous youth group that formed to oppose the pipeline. They have been very active in raising public awareness through social media, petitions, teach-ins, rallies, and videos. In May 2016, 13-year-old Anna Lee Rain Yellowhammer and thirty young people launched a petition that opposed the pipeline. It quickly gathered over 80,000 signatures, including celebrity endorsements such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Russell.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In April 2016, ReZpect Our Water organized a 2,000 mile cross-country "spiritual run" from North Dakota to Washington, D.C., to protest the construction of the pipeline. Upon the groups arrival they delivered a petition with 160,000 signatures to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In December, 2016, Activist Naomi Klein interviewed ReZpect Our Water/Standing Rock Youth organizer Tokata Iron Eyes; she posted a Facebook video of the interview which gained more than a million views in 24 hours.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: The International Indigenous Youth Council has also been active in protests against the pipeline and advocacy for Native American needs. The group was founded by Jasilyn Charger (Cheyenne River Sioux of Eagle Butte, South Dakota). Tara Houska (Ojibwe, Couchiching First Nation of International Falls, Minnesota), national campaigns director of Honor the Earth, has actively helped to explain the protest aims. Eryn Wise (Jicarilla Apache and Laguna tribes), Council communications director, hopes to relate history from the Indigenous people's point of view: "We don't ever hear the narrative of indigenous people. We hear people writing our narratives for us."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On September 8, about 500 Native Americans and other protesters marched in Denver to show solidarity with the Standing Rock Americans. State Representative Joe Salazar spoke about the safety of pipelines and described a recent Colorado Oil and Gas Association statement on oil pipeline safety as "full of lies."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On September 16, a rally and march was held in Seattle to show solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The mayor of Seattle and city council members joined leaders from Northwest tribes from Quinualt, Makah, Lummi, Suquamish, Tulalip, Swinomish, Puyallup and others to show opposition to the pipeline. Fawn Sharp, president of the Quinault Indian Nation and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, said that while the tribes are "determined to win this fight", a "deeper fix" is needed. "The U.S. must recognize that we have political equality. This is much larger than a specific infrastructure project. It goes to the fundamental relationship."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: According to the "Grand Forks Herald", on October 13 the governments of 19 cities, including St. Louis and Minneapolis, had passed ordinances to support the Standing Rock tribe in opposition of the pipeline.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In October, the Morton County Sheriff requested police from surrounding areas to assist in regulating the protests near the pipeline. The Dane County Sheriff's office of Wisconsin sent 10 deputies to aid the local police, but they were recalled a few days later because of opposition from the Dane County residents and county officials.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On November 15, hundreds of cities held protests against the pipeline in a coordinated protest which organizers called a "National Day of Action." Hundreds of protesters gathered peacefully in Chicago, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Denver, and other cities; dozens of protesters were arrested, including demonstrators in Mandan, North Dakota, where protesters were arrested after blocking a railroad.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Tara Houska, Director for Honor the Earth, spoke at a rally in New York City saying, "Because of the power of social media and the millions of those at Standing Rock, the Army Corps are going to invite the tribe in to discuss their concerns." Senator Bernie Sanders spoke at a protest in front of the White House. Robert Kennedy Jr. visited the protest camp and spoke to the protesters. He commented on the PBS Newshour: "I think they have a lot of courage. I think they're standing up for America, that they're standing up in the face of a bully."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Thanksgiving Day has been described as a reminder of the strained relationship between the U.S. government and native people. On the November 24 holiday, several thousand continued to protest the pipeline; some estimated that the number of protesters, which fluctuates, doubled that day. Hundreds of people joined the protest that day, including groups from California, Oregon, Wisconsin, Colorado, South Carolina, and Washington.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Protesters built a floating bridge to Turtle Island, considered sacred ground, and 400 gathered near the bridge, some crossing over to perform a prayer ceremony.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: The influx of many new people over Thanksgiving weekend caused new problems, according to some activists. Some criticized a group of young, mostly white, people at the protest for treating it like a festival such as Burning Man by bringing drugs and alcohol, requiring supplies and provisions rather than sustaining themselves, or performing unsolicited live music.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Actress Jane Fonda was one of a delegation of 50 people who served a Thanksgiving dinner in nearby Mandan, capturing media attention. Business owners traveled from as far as Massachusetts and Pennsylvania to serve food to protesters at Standing Rock.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In February 2017, Seattle, Washington's city council unanimously voted to not renew its contract with Wells Fargo in a move that cites the bank's role as a lender to the Dakota Access Pipeline project as well as its "creation of millions of bogus accounts" and said the bidding process for its next banking partner would involve "social responsibility." The City Council in Davis, California, took a similar action, voting unanimously to find a new bank to handle its accounts by the end of 2017.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In March 2017, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe led a four-day protest in Washington D.C., culminating in the Native Nations Rise march on March 10. The protesters marched through the capital, pausing to erect a tipi at Trump International Hotel, and rallied in front of the White House.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In November, a group called Veterans Stand for Standing Rock formed to participate in nonviolent intervention to defend the demonstrators from what the group has called "assault and intimidation at the hands of the militarized police force." According to "The New York Times", "as many as 2,000 veterans" indicated that they would gather at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation to serve as "human shields" for protesters. The organizers of these protests included a retired Baltimore police sergeant and Wes Clark, Jr., the son of former Supreme NATO Commander and 2004 presidential candidate Wesley Clark. Wes Clark, Jr is affiliated with "The Young Turks".


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard supported the protests and travelled to North Dakota in 2016.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Following the executive order made by new U.S. president Trump in January 2017 which overturned the decision of former President Obama to halt the construction of the pipeline and the February order in which he authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed, US veterans returned to Standing Rock to a form human shield to protect Dakota Access pipeline protesters. Air force veteran Elizabeth Williams said, "We are prepared to put our bodies between Native elders and a privatized military force. We've stood in the face of fire before. We feel a responsibility to use the skills we have."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Along with the hashtag #NoDAPL, many other hashtags sprang up on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to protest the pipeline. The hashtags included #ReZpectOurWater, which is a play on "reservations", #StandWithStandingRock, and #WaterisLife. Activist Naomi Klein posted a Facebook video in which she interviewed 13-year-old water protector, Takota Iron Eyes, which gained more than a million views in 24 hours.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In December 2016, Klein, writing an editorial in "The Nation" shortly after the Army Corps of Engineers had turned down the permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline to be built under the Missouri River, said, "The Lesson from Standing Rock: Organizing and Resistance Can Win." As a long-standing climate change activist, Klein said that past resistance has brought about change incrementally and only after a delay following mass actions. However, she wrote, Standing Rock had been "different."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: However, calling the Army Corps of Engineers request for further study an "incredibly cumbersome, long, horrible permitting process," on January 24, newly elected President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum to advance the construction of the pipeline.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: When Dakota Access Pipeline protests began in 2016, then 34 year-old Two Bears was a tribal council member. His community of Cannon Ball hosted one of the encampments until late 2016. A year later, he created an organization named "Indigenized Energy," which aims to bring renewable energy sources to Native communities. In February 2019, the organization's first solar-panel project was completed in Standing Rock. This project is of importance to Two Bears and to many indigenous communities who claim that The Dakota Access Pipeline protests are what "woke you people up, but we have known for a long time that the colonial capitalism corporate model is attacking this world [...] The energy system dominant across this country is not in line with Native values, and the solution that I came up with is that tribal nations need to create their own energy companies using renewable energy sources." This grassroots solution is following the historic and ongoing citing of polluting industries near indigenous communities. Meaning, for Two Bears and many others, The Dakota Access Pipeline is not an isolated incident, but rather, it is reflective of the larger citing practices of polluting industries where Native communities have "taken the pollutive brunt of the fossil fuels industry."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In December 2016, while still directed by the Obama administration, the Army Corps of Engineers decided that further study to address tribal concerns was needed and launched a study on January 18, 2017. But on January 24, newly elected President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum to advance the construction of the pipeline under "terms and conditions to be negotiated". The order would expedite the environmental review that Trump described as an "incredibly cumbersome, long, horrible permitting process."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: On February 7, 2017, Trump authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed, ending its environmental impact assessment and the associated public comment period. The director of the Indigenous Environmental Network released a statement saying: "The granting of an easement, without any environmental review or tribal consultation, is not the end of this fight—it is the new beginning. Expect mass resistance far beyond what Trump has seen so far. ... Our tribal nations and Indigenous grassroots peoples on the front lines have had no input on this process." Standing Rock chairman David Archambault II said, "We are not opposed to energy independence. We are opposed to reckless and politically motivated development projects, like DAPL, that ignore our treaty rights and risk our water. Creating a second Flint does not make America great again." Appearing as a guest on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on February 12, actress and activist Shailene Woodley said that, rather than gather at the Dakota protest site, the best way to oppose the pipeline may be to boycott banks that fund it and to take part in local protests.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In September 2016, Senator Bernie Sanders spoke to a crowd of about 3,000 members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other tribal nations and supporters at a protest held outside of the White House. Saying "the pipeline threatens the environment and water resources and exploits Native Americans", he asked President Obama to take action and conduct a full environmental and cultural impact analysis of the project, which he believed would kill the pipeline. Following the use of the National Guard and police in riot gear to remove protesters from a protest camp in October, Sanders again called on the president to suspend construction of the pipeline. In a letter to the President, Sanders said in part: "It is deeply distressing to me that the federal government is putting the profits of the oil industry ahead of the treaty and sovereign rights of Native American communities. Mr. President, you took a bold and principled stand against the Keystone Pipeline – I ask you to take a similar stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Saying that the Dakota Access pipeline project is part of a "long history of pushing the impacts of pollution onto the most economically and politically disadvantaged people and communities across this country", Representative Raúl Grijalva, the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, on September 22 asked the Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw the existing permits for the pipeline.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Saying "the project's current permits should be suspended and all construction stopped until a complete environmental and cultural review has been completed for the entire project", Senators Sanders, Dianne Feinstein, Ed Markey, Patrick Leahy and Benjamin Cardin on October 13 called on President Barack Obama to order a comprehensive environmental review of the pipeline project. They also requested stronger tribal consultation for the contested part of the route.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Calling the proposed pipeline route "the ripest case of environmental racism I have seen in a long time", on October 26 the Reverend Jesse Jackson announced support for the movement, saying, "The tribes of this country have sacrificed a lot so this great country could be built. With promises broken, land stolen and sacred lands desecrated, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is standing up for their right to clean water. They have lost land for settlers to farm, more land for gold in the Black Hills, and then again, even more, land for the dam that was built for hydropower. When will the taking stop?"


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In September, Obama spoke to tribal representatives, saying, "I know that many of you have come together across tribes and across the country to support the community at Standing Rock. And together, you're making your voices heard." He again discussed the protest movement on November 2 saying that "we're going to let it play out for several more weeks and determine whether or not this can be resolved in a way that I think is properly attentive to the traditions of First Americans."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: In an October 28, 2016 public statement, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, spiritual leader and Keeper of the Sacred Pipe Bundle of the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota Nations, invoked his role as the voice of traditional government of the Great Sioux Nation and called upon President Barack Obama to communicate "nation to nation, as indicated by our treaties."


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Several members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives weighed in on the protest on November 29, 2016. Senators Al Franken of Minnesota and Cory Booker of New Jersey called upon U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate the tactics of law enforcement officers against peaceful protesters, and to send monitors to track any violence against protesters. Several members of the House made statements as well, and Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii announced plans to join hundreds of other military veterans in protecting the protesters in early December.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Native American lacrosse players Lyle Thompson and his brothers Miles, Jeremy and Hiana and others including Bill O'Brien and Scott Marr, used social media to support the protesters. They visited the camp as well, bringing lacrosse sticks and organizing games, giving instructions to those who had never before played the game. Following the Trump administration's January 2017 reversal of the Court decisions made under the Obama administration, the players said that they planned to continue with their support.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: Following her unexpected win in the 2018 New York Democratic primary race, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez credited the time she spent at the protest camp as the reason for her decision run for political office. In an interview she recalled her visit to Standing Rock as a tipping point, saying that she had previously felt that the only way to effectively run for office was if you had access to wealth, social influence, and power. But her visit to North Dakota, where she saw others "putting their whole lives and everything that they had on the line for the protection of their community," inspired her to begin to work within her own community.


title: Dakota Access Pipeline protests

text: The media did not report on the Dakota Access Pipeline protests until about five months after it had started happening and gaining attention on social media (they started reporting in August 2016). Some argue that this shows the media is indifferent toward Native Americans. And what they did report included stereotypes about Native Americans, describing teepees and speaking of poverty and alcoholism.


title: Pepijn Lijnders

text: Pepijn "Pep" Lijnders (born 24 January 1983) is a Dutch football manager. He is an assistant manager of Premier League club Liverpool.


title: Pepijn Lijnders

text: Lijnders began his managerial career in 2002 with PSV Eindhoven, helping with youth training and individual player development. In 2006, he moved to Porto and helped develop their youth academy, working under guidance of Vítor Frade and Luís Castro and implementing the Tactical Periodisation ideas on the 611 project. During his time in the club he worked under Jesualdo Ferreira, André Villas-Boas, Vítor Pereira and Paulo Fonseca. In 2014, he moved to Liverpool and assisted Brendan Rodgers and Jürgen Klopp as assistant coach, as well as First Team trainer with Klopp.


title: Pepijn Lijnders

text: On 2 January 2018, Lijnders accepted the managerial job at NEC in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. He signed a contract of one year and a half. On 17 May 2018, Lijnders was sacked after NEC failed to gain promotion to the Eredivisie in the promotion play-offs.


title: Pepijn Lijnders

text: He returned to the Liverpool coaching staff on 5 June 2018. He was part of the coaching staff that helped Liverpool to their sixth UEFA Champions League win on 1 June 2019 and their 19th league title win in the 2019–20 season.


title: Marge Schott

text: Margaret Carolyn Schott (née Unnewehr; August 18, 1928 – March 2, 2004) was an American baseball executive. Serving as managing general partner, president and CEO of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise from 1984 to 1999, she was the second woman to own a North American major-league team without inheriting it, after New York Mets founder Joan Whitney Payson.


title: Marge Schott

text: She was banned from managing the team by MLB from 1996 through 1998 due to statements in support of German domestic policies of Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, amongst other controversies over her own personal beliefs; shortly afterwards, she sold the majority of her share in the team.


title: Marge Schott

text: Schott was born in Cincinnati, one of five daughters of Charlotte and Edward Henry Unnewehr. Her father grew wealthy in the lumber business. She attended parochial schools and graduated from the Sacred Heart Academy. While in college, Marge Schott became a member of Theta Phi Alpha fraternity. She married Charles Schott, a member of a wealthy Cincinnati family, in 1952, and inherited his automobile dealerships and interests in other industries when he died of a heart attack in 1968. A widow at 39, Marge Schott never remarried and had no children of her own.


title: Marge Schott

text: Schott had been a Reds fan for most of her life; from 1963 onward, she held an auction to raise money for the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, attended by several Reds players. In 1981, Schott bought a minority interest in the Reds as part of a group headed by insurance magnates William and James Williams. On December 21, 1984, she purchased a controlling interest for a reported $11M, making her managing general partner, and becoming the first woman to buy an MLB team. In 1985, she was named president and CEO of the club. Five years later, the Reds won the World Series, when they swept the Oakland Athletics.


title: Marge Schott

text: Schott quickly became one of baseball's most publicly visible owners. The Reds had long been a family-oriented franchise, and fans praised her efforts to keep ticket and concession prices low. For instance, she kept the price of the basic hot dog at one dollar (), and kept box seats around $12 ()the cheapest in baseball. Unlike most owners, she sat in a regular box seat at Riverfront Stadium, and often signed autographs. She often allowed groups of children on the field to run to deep center field and back. She was also noted for always having Schottzie, her pet Saint Bernard, with her.


title: Marge Schott

text: She was also criticized for not spending the money it would have taken to build the Reds into contenders. This "cheap" attitude was sometimes conveyed in her own statements. She would publicly comment on occasion about having to pay players while they were on the disabled list, notably World Series hero José Rijo (who had an elbow injury), about whom she once complained of "paying three million dollars to sit on his butt."


title: Marge Schott

text: In addition, it was also revealed that Schott, far from being happy about the team winning the 1990 World Series, was so annoyed that the team ended the series, in her opinion, too early (as she suggested most money made off the Series was only made after the series went further than a Game 5; the Reds had swept the series in 4 straight) that she refused to pay for any post-game celebration for the team, and was reported to have her opinions on the series "ruined" due to a dispute with Reds center fielder Eric Davis, as the team refused to cover his surgery after Davis suffered a lacerated kidney in Game 4, and the injury was ultimately so severe it would permanently impede his career; she was also annoyed at his seeming indignance over the matter, and went so far as to imply she favored seasoned veterans (suggesting that Davis' tenure, just over 5 seasons at the time, was still not enough).


title: Marge Schott

text: On November 13, 1992, Charles "Cal" Levy, a former marketing director for the Reds, stated in a deposition for Tim Sabo, a former employee who was suing the team, that he'd heard Schott refer to then-Reds outfielders Eric Davis and Dave Parker as "million-dollar niggers." Sabo, who had been the team's controller, alleged that his 1991 firing was due to testifying against Schott in another lawsuit brought against Schott by several limited partners and because he opposed the unwritten policy of not hiring blacks. Schott's countersuit alleged that Sabo wrote unauthorized checks to himself and paid health insurance premiums to retired front-office employees. She asked for $25,000 in damages for defamation. Sabo ultimately lost his suit.


title: Marge Schott

text: Levy, who is Jewish, alleged that Schott kept a Nazi swastika armband at her home and claims he overheard her say "sneaky goddamn Jews are all alike." The next day, Schott issued a statement saying the claims of racism levied against her were overstated and that she did not mean to offend anyone with her statement or her ownership of the armband. Schott explained that the swastika armband had been a gift from a former employee.


title: Marge Schott

text: On November 29, Schott said the "million-dollar niggers" comment was made in jest, but then stated that she felt that Adolf Hitler was initially good for Germany and did not understand how the epithet "Jap" could be offensive.


title: Marge Schott

text: During the same season, a former Oakland Athletics executive assistant, Sharon Jones, is quoted in "The New York Times" as having overheard Schott state: "I would never hire another nigger. I'd rather have a trained monkey working for me than a nigger," before the start of an owners' conference call.


title: Marge Schott

text: On May 5, 1996, Schott aroused ire when she made statements favorable of Adolf Hitler, saying he "was O.K. at the beginning, [...] He just went too far." Later in the month, Schott was quoted in "Sports Illustrated" as speaking in a "cartoonish Japanese accent" while describing her meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan. Schott later stated that she did not like Asian kids "outdoing our kids" in high school.


title: Marge Schott

text: Schott was the target of frequent criticism for allegedly allowing her ever-present St. Bernards, Schottzie and Schottzie 02, near-complete free rein of Riverfront Stadium, including their defecating on the field. In particular, Reds personnel had also complained of her dogs' hair frequently getting stuck on their uniforms; Schott believed this was a good-luck charm, and during their 1990 World Series run would send bags of his hair to the team facilities. The hair was so old it began to smell. When the original Schottzie died, he was buried in Schott's backyard, wearing a Reds hat.


title: Marge Schott

text: Schott was known for not wanting to hire scouts, stating that "All they do is sit around and watch ball games," and, for the opening week of the 1996 season, refusing to post scores of other games on the Riverfront Stadium scoreboard (the cost of this service was $350/month). Schott reportedly said of the scoreboard issue, "Why do [fans] care about "one" game when they're watching "another?""


title: Marge Schott

text: On September 21, 1989, professional wrestler Randy Savage (in his "Macho King" gimmick), was invited by Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman to join him in the booth. Prior to his wrestling career, Savage was a minor league baseball player who played for Tampa Tarpons (a Reds farm team). He joined Brennaman during the third inning, in a 11–7 loss to the San Diego Padres, which garnered attention from players, umpires and fans in attendance. A furious Schott wanted Savage off the air and sent a message to Brennaman via her nephew Stephen H. Schott and the radio producer. Brennaman cornered the younger Schott off the air, telling him: "Don't you ever try to intimidate me again. And if you have something to say, say it yourself". Reds center fielder Eric Davis also criticised the decision to have Savage ejected from the game, saying:


title: Marge Schott

text: On May 18, 1994, during a speech before the Ohio County Treasurers Association, Schott commented that she did not want her players to wear earrings because "only fruits wear earrings." She said, "I was raised to believe that men wearing earrings are fruity." Up to 1999, the Reds had a long-standing rule prohibiting players from having facial hair. In 1985, Schott famously offered future Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers to play for the Reds, on the condition that Fingers would shave off his iconic handlebar mustache. Fingers supposedly responded that he would shave his mustache "when (Schott) shaves her Saint Bernard." The rule was rescinded in 1999 (shortly before she relinquished control of the Reds) after a discussion between Schott and newly acquired outfielder Greg Vaughn.


title: Marge Schott

text: In 1995 Schott famously announced in the middle of the season that manager Davey Johnson would not return, regardless of how well the Reds did. By all accounts, this was because of a personality clash between Johnson and Schott. Most notably, Schott did not approve of Johnson living with his fiancée before they were married later in the year. The Reds won the division (before losing the National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 0), and Johnson was fired anyway.


title: Marge Schott

text: The Reds traditionally played the first game of the season at home. On April 1, 1996, they played the Montreal Expos. The weather was cold and blustery and it had snowed earlier in the day. Shortly after the game started, home plate umpire John McSherry called a time out and motioned towards the Reds dugout, it was later presumed, for medical attention. After taking just a few steps, McSherry collapsed and fell to the artificial turf face first. Attempts to resuscitate McSherry failed and he was pronounced dead on arrival at University Hospital about an hour later. The other umpires decided to postpone the game until the next day. Video showed Schott visibly upset that the game was to be postponed; reportedly she groused, "Snow this morning and now this. I don't believe it. I feel cheated. This isn't supposed to happen to us, not in Cincinnati. This is "our" history, "our" tradition, "our" team. Nobody feels worse than me." Schott later insisted that she was standing up for the fans, though critics saw her comments as insensitive. Schott reportedly offended major league umpires in general—and members of McSherry's crew in particular—by regifting a bouquet of flowers given to her, adding a sympathy note, and sending it to the funeral home. During the team's next homestand, Schott attempted to smooth over her feud with the umpires by apologizing to the crew—despite none of them having been in attendance at the game in question—only to have them refuse the gesture.


title: Marge Schott

text: On an airplane, Schott was allegedly approached by a woman who introduced herself as Edd Roush's granddaughter. Schott then replied, "That's nice hon, what business is he in?" Roush is a Hall of Fame center fielder who had many of his greatest years with the Reds. "The New York Times" later dubbed her "Baseball's Big Red Headache", and "Sports Illustrated" would dub her as a "Red Menace".


title: Marge Schott

text: Due to Schott's racist comments, a four-man committee was convened to investigate Schott. On February 3, 1993, she was fined $250,000 and banned from day-to-day operations of the Reds for the 1993 season. Jim Bowden took over as managing partner. Schott returned to work on November 1.


title: Marge Schott

text: Schott's comments about Hitler led MLB to ban Schott from day-to-day operations through 1998. On April 20, 1999, Schott agreed to sell her controlling interest in the Reds for $67 million to a group led by Cincinnati businessman Carl Lindner. At the time she was facing a third suspension, failing health and an expiring ownership agreement with her limited partners, who planned to oust her. Schott remained as a minority partner.


title: Marge Schott

text: In addition to her interest in the Reds, Schott was a major contributor to charitable organizations in Cincinnati, including Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Cincinnati Zoo, where they named an Asian elephant, Schottzie, after her. A second Asian elephant, also named Schottzie, was donated by Schott in 1996.


title: Marge Schott

text: She is recognized for her major donation to the Boy Scouts' Camp Friedlander that was used to create an lake, christened 'Lake Marge Schott' in her honor.


title: Marge Schott

text: Marge Schott was also a generous contributor to special events at the University of Cincinnati, such as the annual Homecoming Parade. From 2006 to 2020, U.C.'s baseball stadium was named the Marge Schott Stadium in her honor. In June 2020, the university's board of trustees voted to remove her name from the stadium, citing her record of racism and bigotry, and renamed it UC Baseball Stadium.


title: Marge Schott

text: Schott was a long-time smoker; in 2001 she began to develop health problems. Schott was hospitalized twice for breathing problems and suffered from pneumonia in 2003. Schott was hospitalized on February 9, 2004. Some reports claim she was hospitalized due to a cold, while others said she complained of knee ailments; regardless, during her stay she developed breathing problems and had to be put on life support. She died on March 2 at age 75 at the Christ Hospital, in Cincinnati.


title: Marge Schott

text: Schott's funeral was held at All Saints Catholic Church in the Cincinnati suburb of Kenwood. She was interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery wearing her signature red suit with an elephant brooch.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: Pravind Kumar Jugnauth (born 25 December 1961) is a Mauritian politician serving as the prime minister of Mauritius since January 2017. Jugnauth has been the leader of the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) party since April 2003. He has held a number of ministerial portfolios and also been Leader of the Opposition.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: Born on 25 December 1961 in La Caverne, a suburb area in Vacoas-Phoenix, Mauritius, Jugnauth was born into a Hindu Yaduvanshi family. He was born to Anerood Jugnauth, a barrister, and Sarojini Ballah, a schoolteacher. He has an elder sister, Shalini Jugnauth-Malhotra.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: After primary schooling at Aryan Vedic, he studied at Royal College Curepipe. He then went on to study law at the University of Buckingham, thus joining the Lincoln's Inn, and became a barrister. He then joined Aix-Marseille University in France where he graduated with a """diploma in civil law".""


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: Pravind Jugnauth married Kobita Ramdanee in 1992 and is the father of three daughters: Sonika, Sonali and Sara.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: As Minister of Agriculture from 7 September 2000 to 7 October 2003 (under MSM-MMM government), Jugnauth reformed the sugar sector by diversification with the production of ethanol, agricultural rhum, special sugars, electricity generation from bagasse and other high value-added products. Besides production costs were significantly reduced in response to a drop in the protected sugar price under the Sugar Protocol with the European Union. He also negotiated a package for workers under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme which enabled around 8000 workers to retire with cash compensation exceeding 2.5  billion rupees and around 825 arpents of land worth 3  billion rupees.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: Jugnauth also encouraged hydroponics and other modern methods of agricultural production as well as agricultural biotechnology research. He created a National Agricultural Biotechnology Institute and Food Technology Laboratory in Mauritius and later launched the Small Planters Welfare Fund. The fund caters to the welfare of planters and their families and provides crop insurance schemes designed to financially support planters whose crops are affected by unfavourable weather conditions.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: As Finance Minister from 7 October 2003 to 5 July 2005, Jugnauth reduced taxes on thousands of commodities. He increased subsidies on basic commodities and gave salary compensations well above inflation rates in two successive years. He launched a project to make Mauritius a Duty Free Island.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: In June 2005 Prime Minister Paul Berenger dissolved the Parliament in preparation for the 2005 General Elections. The Labour-led Alliance Sociale won a total seat of 38 against the MSM-MMM alliance which obtained only 24 seats. Pravind Jugnauth was defeated in his constituency, received 48% of vote and was not elected.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: In 2006 MP Ashok Jugnauth left the MSM party and formed a new party following a dispute with Pravind Jugnauth regarding the leadership of the party. At that time Pravind was not an elected member of Parliament but still held leadership of the MSM. Nando Bodha the general secretary of the MSM became Leader of the Opposition after the MSM-MMM alliance split up due to Pravind Jugnauth's disapproval of Paul Berenger's request to make Rajesh Bhagwan the Opposition Chief Whip. In 2007 two members of MSM (Joe Lesongard the party's president and Sekar Naidu) left the MSM and swore allegiance to Berenger who became Leader of the Opposition.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: Ashok Jugnauth (half-brother of Sir Anerood Jugnauth and uncle of Pravind) had been elected as MSM member of parliament in Constituency No.8 Quartier Militaire and Moka. But he had to resign in November 2008 as the British Privy Council upheld the guilty verdict that the Supreme Court of Mauritius had issued in 2007 following charges of electoral bribery during the campaign leading to the 2015 General Elections. Thus by-elections had to be held in 2009. Ashok Jugnauth stood as a candidate with the support of MMM. The Labour Party supported Pravind Jugnauth who then announced his candidacy in the 8th constituency. On 2 March 2009, Pravind Jugnauth won the by-elections. His victory paved the way for the next alliance (Labour Party-MSM) during the 2010 general elections.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: In 2009, MSM formed a coalition known as Alliance de L'Avenir or Ptr-MSM-PMSD by joining forces with the Mauritian Labour Party and Mauritian Social Democrat Party. The coalition won the May 2010 elections. On Navin Ramgoolam's advice, President Sir Anerood Jugnauth then appointed Jugnauth Vice Prime Minister & Minister of Finance as of 11 May 2010. On 26 July 2011 Jugnauth and all other MSM ministers resigned due to the scandal known as the MedPoint Affair.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: In 2014, following the resignation of Paul Berenger as Leader of the Opposition, President Kailash Purryag appointed Jugnauth to the office. Jugnauth served as Leader of the Opposition from September to December 2014.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: On 23 January 2017, he was chosen by his party MSM to lead the National Assembly. This triggered the ruling coalition partner Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate to leave the government and join the Opposition. Pravind Jugnauth served as Prime Minister of Mauritius during the second half of the Alliance Lepep's mandate which concluded with general elections in November 2019.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: Following the victory of the Alliance Morisien (a coalition of MSM-ML-MAG parties) at the 2019 General Elections Pravind Jugnauth was elected as Prime Minister for a five-year mandate.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: The sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean is disputed between the United Kingdom and Mauritius. In February 2019, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that the United Kingdom must transfer the islands to Mauritius as they were illegally separated from the latter in 1965. The UK does not recognise Mauritius' sovereignty claim over the Chagos Archipelago. In October 2020, Jugnauth described the British and American governments as "hypocrites" and "champions of double talk" over their response to the dispute.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: Pravind Jugnauth was honoured Doctor from the University of Buckingham with an "Honoris Causa" in 2005. In 2017 he has awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President of India.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: In 2010, the PTR-MSM-PMSD government acknowledged the need to create a specialized centre for geriatric care. Thus the cabinet of Ministers approved the purchase of the existing MedPoint Private Clinic which was owned by Dr. Krishnan Malhotra and Mrs Shalini Devi Jugnauth-Malhotra. The latter is the sister of then Minister of Finance Pravind Jugnauth and daughter of then President Sir Anerood Jugnauth. The objective was to convert the hospital into a specialised centre.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: On 22 July 2011 following an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), then Minister of Health Maya Hanoomanjee was arrested by the ICAC Police and the government chief valuer was suspended from his duties. Pravind Jugnauth was also arrested on charges of "conflict of interest". This became known as the MedPoint Affair. On 30 June 2015 Jugnauth was found guilty under Article 13 of the Prevention Of Corruption Act 2002 (PoCA). He was sentenced by the Intermediate court of Mauritius for 1 year of imprisonment. However, he appealed to the Supreme Court of Mauritius and won his appeal. The prosecution appealed to the Privy Council, but the prosecution appeal was unsuccessful.


title: Pravind Jugnauth

text: On 26 December 2012 Pravind Jugnauth was arrested and interrogated by Central CID on charges of sedition. This followed a complaint lodged by former minister Sheila Bappoo of the Labour Party after Pravind Jugnauth's revelations about the abuse of power and financial scandals involving Navin Ramgoolam's girlfriend Nandanee Soornack. Pravind Jugnauth's arrest was decried as being arbitrary and a form of harassment by Navin Ramgoolam, as the previous application of the anti-sedition law dated back to 1972. Lawyer Roshi Bhadain assisted Pravind Jugnauth in his legal defence.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: , or Cereza, is the titular protagonist of the "Bayonetta" video game series developed by PlatinumGames. She was created by Hideki Kamiya and designed by Mari Shimazaki. Hellena Taylor voiced the character in English for the first two games and several appearances outside the series from 2009 to 2018, while Jennifer Hale voiced her in "Bayonetta 3" (2022). She is voiced by Atsuko Tanaka in Japanese.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Bayonetta is one of only two surviving Umbra Witches, being the child of a Witch and a Lumen Sage. During the events of the first game, she goes in search of her forgotten past, heading for her old home of Vigrid and fighting the angelic forces of Paradiso on the way. In "Bayonetta 2", she becomes a demon hunter confronting her own literal demons. She appears as a guest character in other games such as "Anarchy Reigns", "The Wonderful 101", and the "Super Smash Bros." series.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Reception of the character has been positive overall, with the common point of praise being her highly feminine image, which makes her both stand out among female characters in video games and go against several set conventions.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Given the suggestion to create another action game by producer Yusuke Hashimoto, project director Hideki Kamiya decided to create a female lead, having felt he had already done all that could be done with male protagonists. To this end, he told character designer Mari Shimazaki to create her with three traits: a female lead, a modern witch, and to use four guns. Her name was inspired by a bayonet, meant to imply there was "more to her than meets the eye", while her four guns were named parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme after the old English ballad, "Scarborough Fair", due to Kamiya's love of folk music. The process, which took a full year, went through a hundred character designs and alterations, with early appearances resembling a traditional witch, with a frayed black outfit and a "veil-like look" on her head. The outfit color persisted, described by Shimazaki as being her "theme color" due to being a witch. She was given longer legs and arms to make her more appealing as an action-game character, countering what Shimazaki felt was a trend of female characters in such games having short and thin limbs. Her limbs and the rest of her design were appealing to Kamiya, and development proceeded on the character's attire.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Bayonetta's beehive hairstyle in the first game was an aspect Shimazaki insisted on, using it as an alternative to the usual pointed hat seen on witches. However, despite concerns, Kamiya had no qualms about the hairstyle one way or another. She was additionally given glasses at Kamiya's insistence, intended to differentiate her from other female characters as well as give her a "sense of mystery and intelligence", though Shimazaki attributed it to possibly his preference for women with glasses. Her guns were modeled after a derringer pistol, in order to remain convincing and familiar, as well as to make her weapons "capable of rapid fire; a simple, rugged gun". Kamiya approved the idea, on the grounds that he felt the weapon would look "hot" in a female hand. Holsters were additionally considered for her feet, however the developers discarded the idea after feeling it wasn't feminine.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: The concept of creating her outfit out of her hair was intended to fit into her design as a witch, which the development team felt meant she derived power from her hair. It was designed to both be a "means of adornment and protection" while also giving her appear "fashionable" and accentuate the movement of her limbs. During this process it was decided that as she summoned creatures to attack her enemies during the game she would lose partial control of her hair and end up in more "comfortable" attire; Shimazaki noted this as one of the aspects of the character she loved. Kamiya in addition wanted to avoid giving her large breasts and cleavage, feeling that normal sized breasts were adequate and that being mysterious was more attractive than "baring it all". The character's model was created by Kenichiro Yoshimura, who observed non-Japanese models to keep her proportions authentic, giving particular focus to her backside which, as a result, led to it being made wider and more rounded than the typically slim-hipped female characters designed by Japanese artists. While the character Jeanne came to be better liked by most of the team, Bayonetta was Shimazaki's favorite character, while Kamiya referred to her as his "ideal woman".


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Her outfit in "Bayonetta 2" was again designed by Shimazaki. It was generally designed more around straight lines than curves. All her jewelry and accessories were designed around this initiative apart from her glasses. There was debate about where to show skin, but when it was decided to create a cape at the front of the outfit, the front of her outfit was closed and instead they opted to show a large area of her back. For her new look, blue became a key color as opposed to the first game, where it was red: this was because water was a key theme for the second game and Hashimoto requested blue to become the design's key color. This eventually proved difficult as, combined with the black and silver incorporated into her outfit and the game's general color palette, it did not have the sharp qualities of her former appearance. Shimazaki described trying to make her stand out in her black outfit as "a nightmare". Her overall design theme was "solid". The character's hairstyle underwent a major redesign. Hashimoto's main reason behind this was that "[Bayonetta's] personality is the type that would not want to remain stagnant. She would want to change her style, taste in fashion, and her costumes. Down the line in the series, she may make further changes to her appearance." The texture of her outfit was designed to appear similar to leather, despite it still being made from her hair. Her new guns, Love is Blue, were also difficult to design, as making them too large or too similar in color to other elements of Bayonetta's outfit would not have fitted her. In the end, they were made a more striking shade of blue, as well as being given some gold to match Bayonetta's chestpiece and a silver sheen. Each of the guns, Toccata, Prelude, Nocturne and Minuet, were given antique charms adorned with flower designs and named according to their color and the ideas they evoked to further promote and augment the new look.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Bayonetta is voiced by Hellena Taylor in English and Atsuko Tanaka in Japanese. For the original game, despite production being based in Japan, Kamiya was particular to insist that the character have an English voice actor, and had no Japanese voice actor assigned due to his belief that speaking Japanese would not suit the character. Tanaka first voiced the character in the anime "", an adaptation of the original "Bayonetta", and subsequently assumed the role in "Bayonetta 2" and the re-release of the original game on Wii U. Tanaka also voiced the character in commercials for the original game in 2009. She was chosen due to the fact that her name kept cropping up when the team asked who could best portray the character in Japanese.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: For "Bayonetta 3", the character's English voice was recast, a decision originally attributed by co-director Yusuke Miyata to "various overlapping circumstances"; Tanaka returned to reprise her role in Japanese. Taylor contested Miyata's statement on Twitter, alleging that the reason for leaving the role was Platinum offering her a flat rate of $4,000 for the role; an amount she found "insulting" given the series' commercial success. Her statements, combined with responses to it, prompted online controversy. However, several investigative reports disputed the story, with sources claiming that Taylor was offered a rate of $4,000 per session, for a total of 5 sessions. The role was given to Jennifer Hale, a veteran voice actress known for her work in the "Mass Effect" and "Metal Gear" series. Commenting on fan concerns surrounding the change, Miyata stated that Hale's performance was "way beyond what we could have imagined."


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Bayonetta was born in Vigrid from the forbidden union of Lumen Sage Balder and Umbra Witch Rosa: the Witch was imprisoned and the Sage exiled from his clan. Bayonetta's birth caused a rift between the formally peaceful clans and eventually led to them engaging in a war. Bayonetta became a black sheep among the Umbran Witches, and during the war, Jeanne, her former childhood friend and rival, sealed her away and wiped her memory to protect her from those who would exploit her power. For the next five hundred years, Bayonetta was sealed in a coffin at the bottom of a lake until she finally awakens from her sleep. A journalist, Antonio Redgrave, happens to be at the lake and is then murdered by Balder's angels who later got killed by Bayonetta as his son, Luka, looks on.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: In "Bayonetta", the witch sets out for her hometown Vigrid, where Balder is preparing to awaken the creator Jubileus and trigger the creation of a new world at the cost of the old one. She is followed there by a now grown-up Luka, who has become a journalist and has set out to show Bayonetta to the world, as an act of vengeance for her supposed part in his father's death. She also encounters Jeanne, who is under Balder's control, and Cereza, Bayonetta's younger self sent through time by the Lumen Sage. Cereza and Bayonetta become close, with Cereza thinking Bayonetta was her mother and Bayonetta eventually telling Cereza that she should keep things she treasured close to her heart (referring specifically to a charm Cereza's mother had given her as a birthday present). Eventually, Bayonetta learns the truth of recent events after defeating Balder and sending Cereza back to her own era: the "Left Eye" is actually Bayonetta herself, and regaining her memories allowed her to awaken her latent power. By bringing Cereza into the present, Balder set events into motion that would prevent Bayonetta from forgetting her past when Jeanne sealed her away. Knocked unconscious by the awakening of her power, Bayonetta is sealed within Jubileus by Balder, only to be rescued by Jeanne, newly freed from the Lumen Sage's control. Together, the two destroy Jubileus and save the entire universe from the Second Armageddon.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: In "Bayonetta 2", a few months after the events of the first game, Bayonetta and Jeanne are fighting an angel outbreak when a supernatural summoning goes wrong and Gomarrah kills Jeanne. Bayonetta then sets out to rescue Jeanne's soul from the realm Inferno, heading to the sacred mountain Fimbulventr to find the Gates of Hell. Arriving at the town of Noatun, she encounters a mysterious boy named Loki who serves as her guide to the mountain. She also reunites with Luka, who tells her about the legend of the deity Aesir, who created and ruled the Chaos Realm (Human Realm). During their journey, the pair is attacked by a masked Lumen Sage who targets Loki. When they reach the Gates of Hell, Bayonetta meets Loptr, who is apparently working with the Masked Lumen and knows Loki very well. Through a vision, he reveals to her that her father Balder was not responsible for the witch hunts and tried to save her mother, who was killed by an unknown assailant who looks like Loki. To escape their attackers, Bayonetta and Loki flee into Hell, but the Masked Lumen follows them. Separated from the boy, Bayonetta fights through hordes of demons and successfully rescues Jeanne but finds Loki being attacked again by the Masked Lumen. Intervening, Bayonetta fights the Sage, revealed to be a younger version of her father Balder who had been targeting Loki for Rosa's murder. Suddenly, Loki unwillingly sends both Bayonetta and Balder back into the past during the Witch Hunts. Bayonetta meets her mother Rosa, and the two of them fight against the angels. During the battle, she fights a younger version of Loptr, and she realizes that he murdered Rosa and framed Loki for the crime. Later encountering Balder, the pair enter the Umbra Witch sanctuary to find that Loptr had killed Rosa. When he escapes, Bayonetta tells Balder that the killer was not Loki. She then opens a time portal and the two of them return to the present. With the help of Jeanne flying a fighter jet, Bayonetta and Balder set out for Fimbulventr to confront Loptr, who has captured Loki. He reveals that he and Loki are the two halves of Aesir. When Aesir divided his power into the Eyes of the World, he split his soul into two: Loki being the good half and Loptr being the evil half. But Loptr decided to take back his power and become Aesir once again. Draining Loki of his power, Loptr takes the Eyes from both Bayonetta and Balder and transforms into Aesir. While the Witch and the Sage team up to fight Aesir, Loki erases the Eyes and weaken Loptr. Bayonetta and Balder defeat Loptr and split his soul from his body. When he tries to escape into the past to be reborn, Balder stops him by sealing the soul inside his body, despite Loki warning that it will corrupt him. Bayonetta tearfully bids farewell to her father as he is transported back into the past and becomes the corrupted Balder. As Loki begins to fade, he promises to Bayonetta that they will meet again when he is reborn.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: At the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Sega chose Penny Drake to model as Bayonetta after auditioning 100 women. To promote the character and the game, "Playboy" featured several models dressed as her for viewers to vote which they considered the best. Sega also joined men's lifestyle website Maxim.com to run a contest to find women who looked like Bayonetta; the grand prize winner was Andrea Bonaccorso. A Spanish cosplayer known as "Judy Helsing" portrayed Bayonetta as she appeared in "Bayonetta 2" for "Playboy".


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Bayonetta starred in the anime film "", an adaptation of the first "Bayonetta" game. She also appears as a downloadable character in Sega's multiplayer fighting game "Anarchy Reigns", and as a special guest character alongside Jeanne and Rodin in Nintendo's action game "The Wonderful 101".


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: On December 15, 2015, Bayonetta was announced as the final downloadable character for "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U". Following a Nintendo-sponsored fan poll asking for character suggestions for the game, Bayonetta was the most popular choice among "negotiable" characters worldwide, placing among the top five vote-getters in the United States and placing first in the polls in Europe. She sports her primary character designs from both "Bayonetta" and "Bayonetta 2" with her design from the second game being her default appearance, and retains many of her abilities from both games, such as extended combos, Witch Time, and Infernal Climax. She was released alongside a stage based on the falling Umbra Clock Tower from "Bayonetta" on February 3, 2016, in North America and on February 4, 2016, in Europe. Both the character and stage return in the sequel "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate", this time in the initial release.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Hideki Kamiya was approached about having Bayonetta included in "Project X Zone 2", to which he refused as he wanted Bayonetta and Dante from "Devil May Cry" to meet "on his own terms". However, he has stated that he has come to regret this decision due to realizing how the fans would have loved the two interacting, and that if there is a "Project X Zone 3" he would be all for Bayonetta's inclusion.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Bayonetta also appears in "8-Bit Bayonetta", a free game that SEGA released on 1 April 2017 on Steam. The game's achievements led players to a "coming soon" page, with a countdown that ended with the release of the first game on PC.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Critical response to Bayonetta's character has been mainly positive. "Computer and Video Games" praised her as more interesting than the game's storyline, describing her as the "sexiest collection of pixels [they've] ever seen", though not a character they considered a sex object. They further compared her to "Lara Croft without the prudishness, Rubi from "Wet" played with honest sexuality", and one of the most memorable characters they'd seen. GamesRadar stated the character deserved plenty of respect, describing her as "sexy, witty and can certainly handle herself in a fight" and further named her one of the game's most positive points as she "kicks all sorts of ass and is funny too." "GamePro" felt that the character's "overt sexuality and frantic anime-inspired shenanigans" hampered the game's presentation, adding they would have enjoyed the character more if less focus had been put on her sexuality. IGN's Ryan Clements described the character as a "hardcore badass" that was also "brimming with sexual energy", further describing her as an "immensely powerful protagonist". However, associate editor Nicole Tanner disagreed, noting she did not find the character's sexuality at all empowering as "just because you give a girl an attitude and guns isn't enough to offset what she looks like". Other members of IGN's staff named her their favorite video game character, describing her as "the playfulness and versatility of Dante" combined with "visually inventive combat". They cited her constant nudity as a point of appeal, calling the mechanic of her hair serving as her clothing both one of the stupidest and one of the coolest elements of a character. "Kotaku"s Ash Parrish commended her design at "Bayonetta 3" and remarked on her braids.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: In 2012, the staff of GamesRadar ranked her as the 100th best hero in video games. The same site later listed her as the 17th best character from her generation. Larry Hester of "Complex" ranked her as the 19th hottest video game character in 2012, and as the 20th "most badass" video game character of all time in 2013. Lisa Foiles of "The Escapist" named Bayonetta's boots as the craziest footwear in video games, saying she was "totally okay with the absurdity of these." In 2014, "La Nueva España" included the "as beautiful as lethal" Bayonetta among the top ten sexiest video game characters of both genders. "Thanh Niên" ranked her in 2015 as the 18th most sexy female character.


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: Upon the release of "Bayonetta 2" in 2014, Bayonetta's design received both widespread approval but also criticism from some reviewers. Polygon<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Arthur Gies praised the developers for giving Bayonetta "some much-needed development as a human being who cares about things other than herself; her motivations go beyond the agonizingly trope-y amnesia setup of the first game", he was significantly concerned about other aspects of her depiction, such as gratuitous camera angles that were "frequently provided as an implicit reward for doing well. … It's sexist, gross pandering, and it's totally unnecessary." He felt that such issues "cause[d] an otherwise great game to require a much bigger mental compromise to enjoy". "Edge" stated that although "Bayonetta's default design shows how to walk the tightrope between sexy and sexualised", certain optional costumes "range from the respectable to the cringeworthy." GameSpot review by Mark Walton found the character praiseworthy: "[D]espite suffering crotch shots and blatant innuendos …[Bayonetta] remains one of the most charismatic and powerful heroines in the medium. There are none of the sleazy moments that peppered the likes of "Lollipop Chainsaw" and "Killer Is Dead"; the sexualisation here serves to empower, not to belittle." In an editorial for "The Guardian" on female characterization, Ria Jenkins praised Bayonetta as a character who is "unapologetically feminine, sexual and confident. Dismissed by many as an objectified fantasy, she is a woman without compromise who refuses to be ashamed of her body."


title: Bayonetta (character)

text: In 2018, Lady Gaga expressed her love of the character, referring to her as "tough." In 2020, Lady Gaga released a music video for "Rain On Me" containing several references to Bayonetta.