North Dakota pipeline protest prompts more than 20 arrests

More than 20 people have been arrested at a North Dakota construction site while protesting the Dakota Access pipeline.

Morton County sheriff's spokesman Rob Keller says 200 to 300 people were protesting Saturday morning when authorities were called to the site south of Mandan, a city just west of Bismarck and about 50 miles north of where protesters have been camping for weeks.

Protests have drawn thousands of people to the area where Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners is trying to finish building the 1,200-mile pipeline.

Keller confirms that officers used pepper spray. More details are expected to be released Saturday afternoon.

The protesters are facing charges including criminal trespass and engaging in a riot.

More than 160 people have now been arrested in North Dakota since demonstrations began in August.