Over the past week, protests have escalated against a 1,772-mile long oil pipeline, worth several million dollars, that is planned to stretch across North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois.

When tension between protesters and workers got out of control during the weekend, a judge ordered construction to stop until further notice. According to reports, those resisting the pipeline became aggressive, and in response, security officers used pepper spray and attack dogs on crowds of Native American men, women, and even children. Three workers were injured. Thirty protesters were hurt by pepper spray and twelve others by dogs. This is not the first instance of controversy over the pipeline. It has met resistance from the Native American population for the past few months. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have been an especially crucial group in the protests.

The construction of the pipeline threatens to break treaty laws, to say the least. Protesters also argue that if it were to leak, it would contaminate nearby drinking water and rivers. It has also destroyed the way of life on the Native American reservations. On Saturday, when the violence began, construction bulldozed through a sacred site. They fear that the pipeline will further disrupt sites of cultural value on the reservations.

While it is temporarily postponed, the future of the pipeline will be decided in court later this week.

Not much has been said about the pipeline throughout the ongoing presidential race until Green Party candidate Jill Stein took action. A warrant for Stein’s arrest was out after she spray-painted construction equipment. She was, overall, charged with criminal trespass and criminal mischief.

Stein has strong views on environmental issues, so it is not unusual that she would speak out in such a big way over the issue at hand. Her actions brought attention not only to the damage currently being done by the oil pipeline but also to the fact that independent and third-party candidates are still in this race.