SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is suing the Trump Administration over the tribe’s COVID-19 checkpoints.
Lead Attorney Nicole Ducheneaux says the suit alleges that Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows threatened the tribe.
“He suggests that the tribe’s checkpoints could jeopardize their ability to use the CARES Act funding that Congress set aside to help the tribe get through this coronavirus.”
Ducheneaux says the Trump Administration is apparently trying to “appease” Governor Kristi Noem. Noem opposes the checkpoints on state and federal roads and has urged the federal government to get more involved.
The lawsuit also alleges that Administration officials threatened to take control of policing on the tribe’s reservation.
“Kind of to bully the tribe and to force the tribe and to punish the tribe for having these health safety checkpoints,” Ducheneaux says the tribe has a perfect right to use checkpoints to protect the health of its members.
