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Pipeline protester’s elderly endangerment case dismissed

BISMARCK, N.D. — Authorities have dismissed one of two criminal cases against a Bismarck woman accused of abusing her elderly mother during protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

Kathleen Bennett, 59, was accused of leaving her 82-year-old mother with dementia tied to a chair in a protest camp in North Dakota while she attended demonstrations in December 2016. The mother was taken to a hospital during a blizzard. Hospital staff said she was frail and malnourished.

Bennett in February pleaded not guilty to endangering a vulnerable adult, a felony charge that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

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She was to stand trial next week, but the defense and prosecution agreed Tuesday to dismiss the case with $2,050 in fines forfeited from Bennett’s bond, The Bismarck Tribune reported.

Bennett also is charged with exploiting her mother by using $1,200 of her money without consent to rent hotel rooms, buy meals, and pay legal fees while her mother was hospitalized.

She has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge and is set for a trial in January.

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