On November 19, 2018, Williams & Connolly, LLP and the Civil Liberties Defense Center filed a civil rights action in the U.S. District Court of North Dakota against Morton County, ND and other law enforcement agents on behalf of Sophia Wilansky, a water protector present at the Oceti Sakowin camp as part of the Standing Rock resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
“At the time Sophia Wilansky alleges she was grievously injured by an explosive munition launched by a heavily militarized law enforcement presence, Sophia was engaged in a peaceful demonstration against the proliferation of fossil fuels and the disregard of Indigenous rights, two of society’s most significant moral issues. Such civic engagement by Sophia (only 21 years old at the time) and her generation is critical to our nation’s future. Law enforcement’s violent response not only violated the Constitution but also threatens our democracy. It would be too easy for Sophia to let this painful episode pass to avoid further public ridicule. Instead, she took the courageous step of filing this lawsuit yesterday because she refuses to accept that we live in a society where the government has a license to maim (if not kill) those who seek to engage in nonviolent civil protest.” Lauren Regan, attorney for Sophia Wilansky.
Read the full complaint against law enforcement here: