ricketts, pete gov Sen

ALMOST TAKEN OUT BLUE 2026 BY INDEP DAN OSBORN

PIPELINES

trust fund baby?

Ricketts is also the father of former Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, who was appointed by his successor to the U.S. Senate on his way out the door due to the early resignation of Sen. Ben Sasse to take a position as president of the University of Florida.

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Dan Osborn (I)

Senate

—

$13,476,276

$6,176

Defeated in the general election

11 26

Tech Influence Watch Tech Influence Watch

Industry contributions

$506.7 million

from tracked cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industry companies and individualsⓘ

PAC funds on hand

$386.9 million

held by crypto- and AI-focused committees

PAC spending

$249.6 million

spent directly on federal elections this cycle

These three figures aren’t additive — they show the same money at three different stages, as it flows from donors to PACs to elections. » Follow the money flow

...

Top races influenced by crypto and AI industry super PAC money

» All races with crypto and AI industry spending

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11 26

Featured Tracker

Quid pro quo

Besides their Congressional election spending, companies have poured billions into Trump and his family. Enforcement cases were dropped, investigations were closed, and industries were invited to write their own regulations.

$5.4 billion+

to Trump & family by tracked entities

United Arab Emirates$2.3B
Advanced AI chips access, 15% stake in TikTok, ...
Saudi Arabia$2B
F-35 fighter jets agreement
Justin Sun and Tron$232.7M
SEC case settled, criminal investigation likely ended, ...
Andreessen Horowitz$139.9M
Four employees installed in White House positions

View full tracker →

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11 26

Notable patterns

Cross-sector · 32 races · $138.4M

Crypto and AI PACs are spending in the same races, often through the same two committees

32 races have seen spending from both crypto and AI PACs, totaling more than $138.4 million. The most common pairing is Defend American Jobs (the Republican arm of the FairShake crypto super PAC network) and American Mission (the Republican arm of the Leading the Future AI PAC network), which have spent in 15 of these races, always supporting the same candidate. The two PACs share strategists and backers.

Intra-sector conflict · NY-H-12, MA-H-06, AZ-H-01, MT-H-01, NC-H-01

AI PACs have turned on each other in five House races this cycle

AI PACs have spent $32 million across these races. Each one pits the OpenAI– and Andreessen Horowitz–backed Leading the Future network against other AI PACs, and the largest fight was over Alex Bores in New York’s District 12.

Party lean · crypto vs. AI

Crypto PAC support leans Republican, AI PAC support leans Democratic

Crypto PACs have spent $84 million supporting Republicans and $31.1 million supporting Democrats (73% Republican, 27% Democrat). AI PACs have spent $35.7 million for Democrats and $28 million for Republicans (44% Republican, 56% Democrat).

Opposition spending · $70.9M

Most negative spending targets Democrats

Of the money spent opposing candidates rather than supporting them, $53.6 million has gone against Democrats, $13.5 million against Dan Osborn, an independent challenging Republican Senator Pete Ricketts in Nebraska, and just $3.7 million against Republicans. The largest target is Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown ($24 million).

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an 11 23

lINCOLN — The first Nebraska Republican Party fundraiser of 2024 features former television reporter, U.S. Senate candidate and election denier Kari Lake of Arizona. She visits Omaha on Jan. 5, the eve of the third anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Lake, a Republican who lost her 2022 gubernatorial election to Democrat Katie Hobbs in Arizona, is running a 2024 race against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is running as well.

Like a man she calls her political muse, former President Donald Trump, Lake denies losing her race. Lake rose to national prominence by embracing Trump’s rejection of his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden. She sharply criticized Republicans who acknowledged his defeat.

She is visiting Nebraska during an Iowa campaign trip for Trump. Her event is the latest push to excite the base by new leadership of the Nebraska GOP, which in July 2022 ousted a team loyal to then-Gov. Pete Ricketts. The new team includes similarly Trump-focused Republicans.

Party spokeswoman Dawn Liphardt said Nebraska conservatives are interested in Republicans retaking the Senate and are interested in Arizona’s race. She called Lake “a strong speaker” who will “get Republicans excited” about the 2024 elections locally, which include two Senate races.

Lake is well-liked among some conservatives for aggressively critiquing members of the press and for her loyalty to Trump and his populist approach to politics. Like him, she emphasizes border security.

The Nebraska GOP announced the event by email, selling $50 general admission tickets, $25 tickets for booster club members, $600 for a book signing with Lake, and a $10,000-per-person VIP event before the candidate speaks at 7 p.m. at CHI Center Omaha.

‘Doubling down’

Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Eric Underwood speaks as former GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster and former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway listen in August 2023 in Norfolk, Neb. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb said the Lake fundraiser shows the Nebraska GOP “doubling down with their election denying and reproductive rights denying strategy.”

That, Kleeb said, risks turning off voters and flipping more seats the Democrats’ way.

GOP-led Nebraska is no swing state. Trump won the state easily in 2020, beating Biden in two of the state’s three congressional districts. But Trump lost an Electoral College vote to Biden in the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District.

Nebraska, like Maine, awards a single electoral vote to the presidential popular vote winners in each of the state’s three congressional districts. The Nebraska Legislature has been discussing moving back to winner-take-all elections.

Omaha-area state senators and voters have pushed back against such proposals, arguing that the state benefits economically from the spending by both presidential campaigns competing for the electoral vote that might prove vital in a close race.

Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.

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an 3 23

a right-wing billionaire financial tycoon's project to turn a tiny, rural Wyoming community into his own personal playground was dealt a surprising setback when local officials shot him down, The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday.

Joe Ricketts, founder of the predecessor company to online brokerage firm TD Ameritrade, earned approval to create a luxury resort on his ranch in Bondurant, a community of Sublette County with barely 100 people — sparking outrage from locals. But his latest bid to expand that resort just failed in a surprising vote of the area's board of commissioners.

"According to local outlet WyoFile, three out of five commissioners have historically voted with Ricketts," reported Noah Kirsch. "At last week’s meeting, however, commissioner Sam White unexpectedly joined the minority and rejected the bid to modify property near 'the riverbank at the head of the Upper Hoback River.' Ricketts was seeking to build a 'restaurant, gymnasium, bunkhouse and cabin village,' the outlet said. 'Your application is denied at this time,' White announced to Ricketts’ team. Doug Vickrey, who also voted against the proposal, was more forceful."

“Remember that some things are not for sale,” said Vickrey, in a reference to the Wyoming State Code. “Folks, I’m going to tell you right now, I am one of those things. I am not for sale. So, I would like Mr. Ricketts to know that with all his wealth there are some things in this world money cannot buy, and by God I’m one of them.”

His words were greeted with applause from residents, who had overwhelmingly opposed Ricketts' initial resort plan in the first place.

This is not the only rural community Ricketts has interfered in. A massive fence guk around his ranch in the middle of the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana has become a hazard to wildlife, according to a 2022 report in The Guardian.

"Tensions are high in many communities across the Mountain West, which have increasingly become dominated by wealthy interlopers, particularly since the onset of the pandemic," noted the report. "During last week’s hearing, local journalist Joy Ufford commented on that trend in Sublette County (after receiving clearance from her editor), WyoFile reported. '[If] I don’t say something I’m never going to forgive myself,' she said. 'I’m going to be sick, sick, sick if Bondurant is sacrificed as a stepping stone to Jackson.'"

GOP governors ignore COVID-19 cases in their states to join Greg Abbott for yet another border stunt ›

After Spending Big to Reinstate Death Penalty, Nebraska Gov. Brushes Aside Pope's Call to Push Forward With Plan for 'Experimental Execution'

"Will Catholic [Gov. Pete Ricketts], who spends a lot of time talking about his 'pro-life values,' heed the words of Pope Francis by cancelling the experimental execution scheduled for August 14 in Nebraska?" asks Sister Helen Prejean

John Peter Ricketts (born August 19, 1964) is a politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. He was elected governor of Nebraska in 2014. Ricketts is a member of the Republican Party.

Ricketts is the son of Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade. He worked for the company from 1993 to 2016, with a brief hiatus during an unsuccessful run for a U.S. Senate seat. In 2006, he reported his net worth as between $45 million and $50 million. The Ricketts family trust owns a majority of the Chicago Cubs baseball team; Ricketts sits on the team's board of directors.

In 2006, Ricketts ran for a U.S. Senate seat against incumbent Ben Nelson, a Democrat. He won the Republican primary election, but lost the general election, with 36% of the vote to Nelson's 64%.

Ricketts ran for the Nebraska governorship in 2014. He narrowly won a six-way Republican primary, then won the general election with 57.1% of the vote to Democratic Party nominee Chuck Hassebrook's 39.2%. In June 2017, he stated that he would stand for re-election in 2018.

Personal and business history

Ricketts was born in Nebraska City on August 19, 1964, the oldest of four children of Joe and Marlene (Volkmer) Ricketts. Joe Ricketts was a businessman; Marlene, a teacher. The family moved to Omaha, where in 1975 Joe founded First Omaha Securities, one of the first discount brokerages in the United States. The company prospered, changing its name to Ameritrade, going public in 1997, and changing its name to TD Ameritrade after acquiring TD Waterhouse in 2006.^[1][2][3][4]

Ricketts and his siblings, Tom, Laura, and Todd, all attended Westside High School in Omaha, from which Ricketts graduated in 1982. He attended the University of Chicago, receiving a BA in biology in 1986 and an MBA in marketing and finance in 1991.^{[1][2][3][5][6]}

After completing graduate school, Ricketts returned to Omaha. He worked for the Union Pacific Railroad for a year, then as a salesman for a Chicago environmental consultant. In 1993, he went to work for his father's business, initially in the call center, and subsequently holding a number of executive positions, ultimately becoming the company's chief operating officer. In a 2006 report, he stated that his net worth was between $45 million and $50 million.^[7][8][9]

In 1997, Ricketts married Susanne Shore. A native of Garden City, Kansas, Shore had grown up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and earned a bachelor's degree in English and then an MBA from Oklahoma State University. After a stint working for the dean of students at the University of South Dakota, she had come to Omaha in order to complete a one-year course in nursing at Creighton University. At the time of her marriage to Ricketts, she was working as a nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital in Omaha. Ricketts and Shore produced three children: Roscoe, Margot, and Eleanor.^[10][11]

Ricketts left Ameritrade in order to run for the U.S. Senate in 2006. After his defeat by incumbent Ben Nelson, he returned to the company's board, remaining until the Ricketts family relinquished its board seats in 2016.^[8][12]

In 2007, Ricketts co-founded, and became director and president of the Platte Institute for Economic Research, which he described as a "free market think tank",^[13] and which Nebraska newspapers have described as "conservative".^[8][14] He resigned from the organization in 2013 in order to concentrate on his 2014 gubernatorial campaign. From 2007 to 2012, Ricketts was a national committeeman for the Republican National Committee; from 2007 to 2013, he was a trustee of the American Enterprise Institute.^[14][15]

In 2009, the Ricketts family trust bought the Chicago Cubs baseball team from the Tribune Company. Ricketts and his siblings occupied four of the five seats on the team's board of directors; as of 2017, the four continued to hold those seats.^[2][16]

Ricketts is a Roman Catholic. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre.^[15]

2006 U.S. Senate campaign

Main article: United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2006

Ricketts was the 2006 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat held and retained by Democrat Ben Nelson. His opponents in the primary were former Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg and former state Republican chairman David Kramer. Ricketts spent nearly $5 million of his own money out-of-pocket, outspending his opponents 10–1 in winning the nomination.^[17]

Ricketts received some high-profile campaign assistance, most notably from President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Bush appeared at a campaign rally for Ricketts on November 5, 2006, just days before the election, in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Ricketts ran on a conservative platform, emphasizing fiscal responsibility,^[18] immigration reform,^[19] and agriculture,^[20] as well as championing a socially conservative platform opposing same-sex marriage^[21] and abortion.^[22] In all, he contributed $11,302,078 of his own money to his campaign, triggering the Millionaire's Amendment which allowed his opponent to raise larger amounts from each donor.^[23][24] He spent more money than any Senate candidate in Nebraska history,^[25] but was defeated by Nelson by a margin of 36%–64%.^[26]^

Governor of Nebraska

2014 campaign

Main article: Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2014

In the 2014 election, Ricketts ran for the Nebraska governorship. The incumbent, Dave Heineman, was barred by Nebraska's term-limits law from running for re-election.^[27] Two candidates considered strong contenders for the Republican nomination withdrew by early 2013: lieutenant governor Rick Sheehy, who was embroiled in a scandal; and Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood, whose wife had been diagnosed with cancer.^[28]Ricketts officially joined the race in September 2013, at which point he and state auditor Mike Foley were regarded as early front-runners in a race that also included state senators Charlie Janssen, Beau McCoy, and Tom Carlson.^[29] In February 2014, Janssen withdrew,^[30] and state attorney general Jon Bruning declared his candidacy. Despite his late entrance, Bruning supplanted Ricketts as the perceived front-runner.^[31]

When the primary election was held in May 2014, Ricketts led the field of six candidates, with 26.6% of the vote to Bruning's 25.5%. McCoy received 20.9%; Foley, 19.2%; Carlson, 4.1%; and Omaha attorney Bryan Slone, 3.7%.^[32]

In the general election, Ricketts faced Chuck Hassebrook, who had run unopposed for the Democratic Party's nomination. Hassebrook was a former member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, and former director of the Center for Rural Affairs, which describes itself as "a leading nonprofit organization with a national reputation for progressive rural advocacy and policy work".^[33][34] Ricketts advocated tax reductions; Hassebrook argued that Ricketts's proposed cuts would primarily benefit the rich, and would deprive the state of funds for what he characterized as needed public services. Ricketts opposed the proposed expansion of Medicaid under the provisons of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Hassebrook favored the expansion. Ricketts expressed opposition to an increase in the state's minimum wage; Hassebrook supported it.^[33]

Over the course of the general-election campaign, Ricketts outspent Hassebrook by a considerable margin. In the last spending report filed before the election, he stated that he had loaned his campaign $930,000, and that the organization had spent about $6.0 million. Hassebrook reported expenditures of slightly more than $2.5 million.^[35]

In the general election, Ricketts received 57.1% of the vote to Hassebrook's 39.2%. Libertarian Mark G. Elworth Jr. received 3.5%, and write-in votes accounted for 0.1%.^[36]

Tenure

Ricketts was inaugurated as the 40th governor of Nebraska at the Nebraska State Capitol on January 8, 2015.^[37][38][39]

2015 session

Among the "most significant"^[40] actions taken by the Legislature in its 2015 session were three bills that passed over Ricketts's veto. LB268 repealed the state's death penalty; LB623 reversed the state's previous policy of denying driver's licenses to people who were living illegally in the United States after being brought to the country as children, and who had been granted exemption from deportation under the Barack Obamaadministration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program; and LB610 increased the tax on gasoline to pay for repairs to roads and bridges.^[40][41][42]

Following the override of Ricketts's veto of the death-penalty repeal, capital-punishment proponents launched a petition drive to reverse the legislature's action. Their efforts gathered enough signatures to suspend the repeal until a public vote could be held. Capital-punishment opponents then filed a lawsuit arguing that the petition should be invalidated, on the grounds that Ricketts, who had contributed $200,000 to the campaign, was "the primary initiating force" for the petition drive, and should have been included in the list of sponsors required by Nebraska law.^[43][44] In February 2016, a Lancaster County district judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that Ricketts's financial support of the petition effort did not, ipso facto, make him a sponsor.^[45][46][47] The plaintiffs appealed the issue to the Nebraska Supreme Court.^[48] The referendum was held in the general election of 2016; 61.2% of the population voted in favor of keeping the death penalty.^[49][50]

2016 session

Ricketts at the 2017 CPAC

In its 2016 session, the legislature passed three bills that Ricketts then vetoed. LB580 would have created anindependent commission of citizens to draw new district maps following censuses; supporters described it as an attempt to de-politicize the redistricting process, while Ricketts maintained that the bill delegated the legislature's constitutional duty of redistricting to "an unelected and unaccountable board". The bill's sponsor, John Murante, opted not to seek an override of the veto.^[51][52][53] A second vetoed bill, LB935, would have changed state audit procedures; it passed by a margin of 37–8, with 4 present and not voting. The bill was withdrawn without an attempt to override the veto; the state auditor agreed to work with the governor on a new version for the next year's session.^[51][54] A third bill, LB947, made DACA beneficiaries eligible for commercial and professional licenses in Nebraska. The bill passed the Legislature on a vote of 33–11–5; the veto override passed 31–13–5.^[55][56]

At the 2016 Republican state convention, Ricketts denounced several legislators who had failed to support his and the party's positions on various bills, and called for the election of more "platform Republicans" to the officially nonpartisan legislature. In response to this, thirteen legislators, including five registered Republicans, released a statement in which they accused Ricketts of placing partisanship above principle. One of the signers of the statement, Laura Ebke, changed her registration from Republican to Libertarian shortly thereafter, citing Ricketts's speech as one of the factors that drove her to make the change.^[57][58][59]

2018 election

On June 5th, 2017, Ricketts announced his re-election bid for the 2018 election. During his speech, he stated that "lowering property taxes" will be his main concern if he is elected to a second-term. Ricketts also asked Nebraskan's to "re-hire" current Lt. Governor Mike Foley. ^[60]

Political positions

Ricketts voiced his support for the Keystone XL Pipeline, as he stated it would "create jobs here in Nebraska, lots of tax revenues here in Nebraska, of course help us become less dependent on foreign oil."^[61]

References

https://www.unicornriot.ninja/2016/nebraska-supplied-state-troopers-surveillance-aircraft-north-dakota-emac/

no doc link, pix

Nebraska Supplied State Troopers, Surveillance Aircraft to North Dakota Under EMAC

DECEMBER 8, 2016

Morton County, ND – Documents acquired through a series of public records requests shine light on ongoing out-of-state law enforcement assistance to the Morton County Sheriff and the state of North Dakota in their militarized police operations to protect construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

As we have previously reported, the state of emergency declared by North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple in August enabled Governors of other states, such as Wisconsin, to voluntarily activate their state’s emergency management agencies under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) to recruit police and sheriffs in their state to be deployed against #NoDAPL water protectors in North Dakota.

Emails sent in early October show Nebraska state officials discussing sending officers and resources from the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) to Morton County under EMAC. On the morning of October 12, Brent Curtis, an administrative assistant at the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) wrote in an email to his colleagues,

“Please see the EMAC request from North Dakota below. They are requesting 40 LEOs to assist with a pipeline protest (“civil unrest”). I just received a call from their POC, Geneva, asking if Nebraska would be able to at least partially fill this request for 40 LEOs.“

Attached to Curtis’ October 12 email is a form entitled “Resource Request #1102-RR-5265” which was originally by Geneva Anderson, an administrator at North Dakota’s Department of Emergency Services. The form requests “40 Sworn Law Enforcement Officers“. Much of the form is redacted, but some of it reads:

“Officers will be assisting in a situation involving civil unrest and criminal activities related to opposition of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) project, primarily in southern Morton County in North Dakota. Officers will be assigned to perform one of the following duties within the Quick Response Force (QRF).[REDACTED]“

Towards the end of the form, the field “Safety Concerns/Remarks” is filled in with “Civil disobedience situation“.

Another email, sent on October 17 by NEMA administrative assistant Terri Kattes, hints at an informal discussion between the North Dakota Highway Patrol and the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) preceding NSP’s deployment to Morton County.

“Just received a call from Greg Wilz, North Dakota HLS Director. Would lIke to discuss the possibility of an EMAC request for some HP support to assist with protests. He understands there has been some discussions between the two HPs and there may be some interest but wants to discuss before formalizing any request.“

Greg Wilz, Homeland Security Division Director at the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, appears to be one of the main North Dakota officials responsible for coordinating bringing out-of-state law enforcement to Morton County under EMAC.

North Dakota Homeland Security Division Director Greg Wilz

Several EMAC documents we have reviewed for other upcoming stories bear Wilz’s signature.

More emails sent later that week show conversations between Nebraska Emergency Management administrators and Director Wilz, as well as Sgt. Shannon Henke of the North Dakota Highway Patrol, about requesting an aircraft and a pilot from Nebraska State Patrol. (Sgt. Henke is also the author of an affidavit used as grounds for a felony warrant issued against drone pilot Aaron Turgeon, aka Prolific the Rapper, in retaliation for video journalists using drones to record DAPL private security activities.)

A document included in the EMAC emails we received formally requests that Nebraska provide North Dakota with

“Nebraska State Patrol’s fixed wing aircraft to assist with the DAPL incident occurring in North Dakota. Cessna fixed-wing 206..and any other equipment they feel is necessary to assist in both day and night flight operations. Aircraft would be on a weekly rotating basis with other aviation resources…“

Further emails between emergency management officials in North Dakota and Nebraska show an agreement for Nebraska to lend a Cessna T206 aircraft as well as a Bell 407 helicopter, in rotating one-week shifts.

Doucments found on Muckrock by Melissa Hill show an EMAC request from North Dakota for Nebraska State Patrol aircraft for a “total of 14 days“.

The “Aviation Support” page on the Nebraska State Patrol website boasts of the surveillance capabilities of their aircraft, and specifically mentions the models which have been deployed in North Dakota.

Nebraska State Patrol aircraft. Image source: Nebraska State Patrol

NSP’s website clearly outlines the surveillance capabilities of their Bell 407 helicopter and Cessna T206 airplane which have been deployed to North Dakota:

“The Bell 407 helicopter is a turbine powered, seven place helicopter with excellent performance and lift capabilities. The Bell 407 you see below is outfitted withForward Looking Infrared (FLIR) and a 30,000,000 candle power spotlight. The helicopter and the pilots operating it are also Night Vision Goggle (NVG) certified. The State Patrol’s Bell 407 has the capability of transmitting live video from its externally mounted thermal and day light video camera to mobile receivers on the ground. This exceptional capability provides incident commanders on the ground an aerial view to better manage any critical situation.” – Nebraska State Patrol website

flooding-018

img_2656

“The Cessna Turbo Stationair with the Garmin G1000 avionics panel is a fully IFR capable, technologically advanced aircraft with significant payload capability. Two of the three State Patrol Stationair aircraft are equipped with provisions to allow FLIR and video down-link capability. All are equipped with additional wing tip mounted fuel tanks to allow for extended endurance of up to 8 hours. That additional endurance is ideal during surveillance operations or assignments with extended transit times.” – Nebraska State Patrol website

A video featured on NSP’s page shows shots of the Bell 407 helicopter flying surveillance missions as a metal riff plays, interspersed with footage of militarized SWAT team activity including the use of attack dogs and armored vehicles.

So far, North Dakota has incurred $287,000 in expenses to be repaid to Nebraska,the Omaha World-Herald reported on November 30. On November 21st, Nebraska residents delivered a petition with over 29,000 signatures asking Governor Pete Ricketts to cease providing law enforcement to put down Dakota Access Pipeline protests. Several of the emails we received from open records request also showed messages of protest being registered against Nebraska assistance to North Dakota.

One EMAC request sent from North Dakota lists a “demobilization date” of January 22, 2017, but a Public Information Officer from the Nebraska State Patrol told us that all Nebraska law enforcement had been withdrawn from North Dakota “by Thanksgiving.”

The Nebraska EMAC emails we received included four different request forms with varying deployment dates. They are as follows:

40 Sworn Law Enforcement Officers – October 16-November 7 2016

Helicopter Aviation assets w/pilots and associated crew – October 23-November 21 2016 (1, 2)

URGENT – AVAILABILITY of Sworn Law Enforcement Officers over the next 60 days November 20 2016- January 22 2017

Read the emails below or download the PDF at this link.

You can also read the Nebraska EMAC documents found by Melissa Hill on the Muckrock request page.

Unicorn Riot will continue to regularly provide direct updates about resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Follow our media on Twitter, Facebook, and our website for more information.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/11/sheriff-who-met-dapl-opponents-brute-force-now-advising-other-law-enforcement

no link

Sheriff Who Met DAPL Opponents With Brute Force Now Advising Other Law Enforcement

Nebraska officials are reportedly preparing for what they expect will be massive protests against the Keystone XL pipeline

byLauren McCauley, staff writer

The Morton County Sheriff's Department deployed a tank and sprayed peaceful protesters with a water cannon amid sub-zero temperatures on November 20, 2016. (Photo: Dark Sevier/flickr/cc)

The Morton County Sheriff's Department deployed a tank and sprayed peaceful protesters with a water cannon amid below-freezing temperatures on November 20, 2016.

In an interview with the Omaha World-Herald published Tuesday, Kirchmeier predicted that the next flashpoint will come in Nebraska over the pending construction of the Keystone XL (KXL) tar sands pipeline.

Throughout the months-long standoff in North Dakota, the sheriff's office was repeatedly criticized for acting as a security force for pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners, as well as for routinely employing an excessive use of force against demonstrators. Police in riot gear attacked the water protectors with rubber bullets, water cannons, teargas grenades, and other weapons.

In addition, military vehicles such as a BearCat and MRAPs were deployed, while protesters were monitored by helicopters and identification check-points.

Yet, Kirchmeier told the World-Herald "that several other states, including South Dakota, have asked him to relay what he learned from the Standing Rock protests, and said that eventually he expects to talk with those from Nebraska," the newspaper reported.

Among the lessons learned, according to reporter Paul Hammel, is how the county and state both "declared emergencies so they could utilize emergency funds to buy riot gear and cover the costs of officers who came from other states, including Nebraska."

Further, "Kirchmeier said some tactical lessons were learned in confronting protesters, but he declined to share them," Hammel wrote.

Since Trump's State Department issued a permit last month for the portion of the pipeline that would run from tar sands fields in Alberta, Canada to existing pipelines in Steele City, Nebraska, opponents have been ramping up legal challenges and plans for non-violence resistance.

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And it seems that local law enforcement is also making preparations.

In Nebraska, Hammel reports:

Law enforcement and county officials interviewed say there have been some discussions about what might be coming, but they declined to say whether any protest-control training is underway.

Taylor Gage, a spokesman for Gov. Pete Ricketts, said that commenting on such security preparations would "jeopardize" those plans. The Nebraska State Patrol is well aware of what happened in North Dakota, patrol spokesman Mike Meyer wrote in an email, and regularly trains for "contingencies" such as protests and natural disasters.

Meyer said that recent purchases by the patrol of the sort of nonlethal devices used in crowd control—such as impact sponges and rubber-ball blast and pepper spray grenades—were not out of the ordinary, and are part of the agency's regular equipment purchases.

Activist Jane Kleeb, who founded the organization Bold Nebraska that helped lead the original movement against KXL under former President Barack Obama, told Hammel that she is hopeful the project will not come to fruition, either because of the pending lawsuits or because it still needs approval from the Nebraskan government.

Otherwise, she said, "I think you’ll see creative, nonviolent civil disobedience if it comes to that...We're obviously going to do everything we can to stand with landowners and the Ponca Tribe to protect their land and their legacy."