Kit O'Connell

A gonzo journalist from Austin, Texas and Staff Writer for MintPress News, Kit O'Connell's writing has also appeared at Truthout, the Texas Observer, and The Establishment.

North Dakota ‘Water Protectors’ Reclaim Land, Build New Camps To Block Dakota Access Pipeline

Police are turning up the pressure on thousands of people gathered in various camps in North Dakota to protest the construction of the 1,100-mile pipeline, and MintPress News will be there all week with live, on-the-ground reporting by independent journalist Derrick Broze.

Derrick Broze
Kit O'Connell
By Derrick Broze
And Kit O'Connell
Teepees and numerous tents are set up Monday, Oct. 24, 2016, by Dakota Access oil pipeline protesters in southern North Dakota on property owned by the pipeline company in an attempt to halt construction of the controversial project.

STANDING ROCK RESERVATION, North Dakota --- In response to the fast pace of pipeline construction and mounting pressure from an increasingly violent police presence, activists opposed to the Dakota Access pipeline are expanding their efforts to block construction in North Dakota. More than 125 “water protectors” were arrested over the weekend

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North Dakota Police ‘Out Of Control’ In Crackdown On Dakota Access Pipeline Protests

Police have beaten, harassed, and strip-searched activists and even confiscated sacred Native American drums, a civil liberties group reports.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Over 200 Indigenous Nations are facing a brutal police crackdown in Canon Ball, ND where they've gathered to take a stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

STANDING ROCK SIOUX RESERVATION, North Dakota --- As reports of police abuse at Dakota Access Pipeline protests accumulate, a civil liberties NGO warns that activists’ constitutional rights are under attack. “In Standing Rock, the cops are out of control,” warned Cooper Brinson, staff attorney at Civil Liberties Defense Center, in a report

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Nearly One Million Americans Watched Jill Stein Crash The Two-Party Presidential Debate

‘This is a rigged debate controlled by the two corporate political parties,’ the Green Party’s presidential candidate tweeted while also responding to issues raised in the final debate via Facebook Live.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Green party presidential candidate Jill Stein delivers a stump speech to her supporters during a campaign stop at Humanist Hall in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016.

LAS VEGAS --- Excluded from the third and final presidential debate by the two-party system, Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein took to Facebook Live and Twitter on Wednesday night to offer an alternative point of view. http://twitter.com/DrJillStein/status/788923057066774528 Over 932,000 people viewed her broadcast and it had been shared

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Journalists Risk Legal Battles & Prison Time For Covering Dakota Access Pipeline Protests

Three reporters face felony charges for documenting nonviolent actions against the pipeline, including an Emmy-winning documentarian who could serve a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Police officers stand guard at the Dakota Access Pipeline construction site near Cannonball, North Dakota.

AUSTIN, Texas --- Although charges were recently dropped against prominent progressive journalist Amy Goodman, multiple reporters still face serious charges for covering protests against the Dakota Access pipeline. Among them is Deia Schlosberg, an Emmy-winning documentarian who was recording nonviolent protests against the Dakota Access

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WikiLeaks’ Podesta Emails Reveal Hillary Clinton’s Anti-BDS Strategy

‘I think it is important for Hillary not to alienate or criticize liberal Democrats and liberal Jews,’ one political strategist wrote in an email, acknowledging the left’s growing discomfort with Israel’s treatment of Palestine.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the 2016 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference, March 21, 2016, at the Verizon Center in Washington.

AUSTIN, Texas --- Contained within some of WikiLeaks’ latest dumps of John Podesta’s emails are details on Hillary Clinton’s efforts to oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement amid mounting U.S. opposition to Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Clinton is well known for her opposition to the BDS movement, which seeks to put financial

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US: Let Saudi Arabia Investigate Its Own War Crimes, Russia Requires Int’l Investigation

Saudi Arabia has admitted that the bombing of a Yemeni funeral was led by Saudi forces. The incident, which killed 140 and injured 500, ‘could have been a mistake,’ according to a State Department spokesperson.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
A forensic expert displays glasses and other personal items of a victim as he inspects the destroyed funeral hall, two days after a Saudi-led airstrike targeted it, in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016.

WASHINGTON --- A State Department spokesperson called for Saudi Arabia to be allowed to investigate itself over airstrikes on a funeral, which is a potential war crime, while simultaneously advocating for an international investigation into Russia’s actions in Syria. On Saturday, the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen bombed a

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‘F*ck It, I Quit’: News Anchor-Turned-Cannabis Advocate Faces 54 Years In Prison

While concluding a live, on-air report, Greene infamously quit her job as a local news anchor to run a cannabis club which police raided just before the plant became legal in the state.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Former news anchor and Alaska Cannabis Club CEO Charlo Greene smokes a joint at the medical marijuana dispensary in Anchorage, Alaska. On Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015,

AUSTIN, Texas --- Charlo Greene, the local news anchor from Alaska who became a viral sensation for quitting her job while voicing her support for cannabis legalization during a live broadcast, now faces decades in prison on a growing list of drug-related charges. “Fuck it, I quit,” Greene famously declared live on KTVA on Sept. 22, 2014 at the

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