The Dakota Access Pipeline protestors who hung a banner from the stadium’s rafters at Sunday’s Bears-Vikings game were ticketed guests hiding their equipment under their clothing, US Bank Stadium’s management has announced.
The two fans climbed to the top of the stadium Sunday with a banner demanding US Bank divests from the Dakota Access Pipeline, an underground pipeline for oil that goes through four states but could damage the environment and local water supplies.
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While the game was not interrupted, nearly 200 fans were forced the move from their seats underneath the two protestors. Security at the stadium is designed to detect weapons and explosives, which explains why typically harmless equipment like rope, carabiners and a banner could go through security undetected if concealed in a certain way.
Meanwhile, a third person was issued a trespassing notice and released, but authorities have not revealed how exactly that person was involved in the incident.
This isn’t the first time the sensitive topic of the Dakota Access Pipeline has entered the sports world. Wisconsin basketball player Bronson Koenig, one of the few college basketball players of Native American descent, traveled to the Standing Rock reservation to protest and joined thousands of people in pipeline protests.
[ESPN/Photo: @GoesslingESPN]
