First pipeline protesters found guilty Tuesday

Two pipeline protesters were convicted Tuesday of misdemeanors in the first Dakota Access-related jury trial in Morton County.

The case, which laid bare some of the disorder around the pipeline cases, also featured the first attempt to pick a jury in a county flooded with news and personal ties to the controversy.

The trial pertained to two men — Benjamin Schapiro, 30, of Ohio, and Steven Voliva, 62, of Washington — who were arrested Sept. 27 and accused of blocking a highway to allow a caravan of protesters to proceed. A jury convicted the men of obstructing a highway and disorderly conduct, and fined them $1,285.

Early objections

Tuesday’s proceeding was the court’s second attempt this week to commence a jury trial of pipeline protesters. On Monday, a 10-person trial was postponed after a judge learned some evidence had not been provided to the defense attorneys.

Read more: http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/first-protesters-found-guilty-tuesday/article_aa894d70-1dd8-5af9-99ae-1f114147a984.html