In a matter of hours on Tuesday , over 15,000 people from around the United States signed a petition to President Obama reading:

"We urge you to take all necessary action to prevent further state violence and to block the removal of the water protectors."



The petition, which has been delivered to the White House, was posted at RootsAction.org following the announcement by the Governor of North Dakota that everyone resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline would be forcibly removed.

RootsAction said in an email:

SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Never Miss a Beat. Get our best delivered to your inbox.







"When foreign governments, like Iraq's or Libya's, try to deny oil profits to U.S. corporations, Washington is swift to act -- often disastrously. But when a U.S. state government violates numerous human rights and openly announces a planned escalation, where is the federal government? What becomes of the United Nations or the 'Responsibility to Protect' when oil is on the other side of the equation?"