The Latest: Pipeline company spokesman urges final approval

A spokesman for a group supporting construction of an oil pipeline through the Midwest says the rule of law must be respected and the project should not retroactively be stopped.

Groups protesting the construction of an oil pipeline through the Midwest are planning more than 200 protest actions across the country Tuesday seeking to draw the attention of President Barack Obama.

Rallies are to include events at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices in many states while other locations include federal buildings and offices of banks that have helped finance the project.

The groups, including the Indigenous Environmental Network, Honor the Earth and Greenpeace USA want Obama to permanently halt the construction of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline, the focus of confrontations between police and protesters in North Dakota.

A United Nations group that represents indigenous people around the world says the U.S. government appears to be ignoring the treaty rights and human rights of American Indians opposing the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol says a large group of Dakota Access protesters has caused the state Capitol in Bismarck to be locked down.