On Sunday, the Army Corps of Engineers backed a motion for a temporary restraining order halting further construction. A federal judge ordered an emergency hearing, which was scheduled to take place late Tuesday.

Standing Rock Sioux and protesters from at least 100 Native American nations and their supporters discovered Energy Transfer Partners construction crews had decimated sacred burial sites and historic and culturally significant landmarks early Saturday morning — less than 24 hours after the tribe had filed court documents concerning sacred sites.

The tribe's historians had not been permitted onto the private property until recently to assess whether the area held cultural or other significance.

When demonstrators attempted to peacefully block crews from further destruction, security guards, or rather, mercenaries pepper-sprayed, tear-gassed, and indiscriminately sicced attack dogs on the crowd. Six people were bitten, including a pregnant woman and a young child, who reportedly had to be hospitalized.