Injured Dakota Access Pipeline protester loses legal battle

https://kfgo.com/news/articles/2018/aug/28/injured-dakota-access-pipeline-protester-loses-legal-battle/

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August 28, 2018 4:48 p.m. CDT

BISMARCK, N.D. - A New York City woman who suffered a serious arm injury in an explosion while protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota has lost a legal battle to obtain evidence she wanted for a civil rights lawsuit against law enforcement.

Sophia Wilansky sued the federal government in February, seeking the return of shrapnel and clothing taken from her while she was hospitalized following the November 2016 blast and subsequent injury. Protesters and police have blamed one another for the explosion.

Wilansky's father willingly surrendered the evidence, but her lawsuit argued in part that the government was keeping the seized property for an unreasonable length of time.

Federal Judge Wilhelmina Wright dismissed the case on Monday, saying there was no agreement on the time length and that Wilansky didn't show why she couldn't sue without the evidence.