Pipeline protesters block Market Street

Protesters who gathered at dawn in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline have moved to Market Street and are blocking traffic and the entrance to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers building Tuesday morning.

A large group had gathered at sunrise in the plaza outside City Hall in protest of the proposed pipeline in North Dakota that opponents say could pollute drinking water in the area, including on land occupied by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

The protesters then marched to the Army Corps of Engineers’ San Francisco district headquarters at 1455 Market St. between 10th and 11th streets. Some protesters stood in the roadway on Market Street, while others sat in front of the doorway to the building chanting “Water is life!”

The action was organized by a group calling itself Diablo Rising Tide and is one of several locally to take place in recent weeks in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux.

San Francisco Municipal Railway officials said Muni routes that cross or operate on Market Street are being rerouted or turned around as a result of the demonstration.