State officials spent nearly $1.6 million on security during a series of Enbridge Line 3 pipeline protests at the Minnesota State Capitol in August.
A Department of Public Safety spokesman said the department spent $1.46 million on salaries, meals and lodging for State Capitol security personnel during the payroll period that included four days of demonstrations on the Capitol grounds.
A spokesman for the Department of Administration added that it cost $99,738 to erect and later remove a new temporary security fence and concrete barriers around the State Capitol building ahead of the August "Treaties Not Tar Sands" events.
A blog called Healing Minnesota Stories first reported on the costs.
Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan defended the security measures at the time as part of the state's "obligation to protect public safety and public property" while ensuring people can exercise their First Amendment rights.
Genna Mastellone, an organizer for the rally, called the police presence in August "excessive" and said "seeing the amount of money the state spent in total is shocking now."
"Instead of meeting Indigenous climate leaders and activists with a willingness to discuss the harmful Line 3 tar sands pipeline, our state's leadership responded with a threatening show of force," Mastellone said.
