As many as 2,000 veterans plan to gather next week at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota to serve as “human shields’’ for protesters who have for months clashed with police over the construction of an oil pipeline, organizers said.

The effort, called Veterans Stand for Standing Rock, is planned as a nonviolent intervention to defend the demonstrators from what the group calls “assault and intimidation at the hands of the militarized police force.’’

On Tuesday, meanwhile, law enforcement officials said they would begin blocking supplies, including food, from entering the main protest camp after an evacuation order from the governor because of “anticipated harsh weather conditions,’’ according to Reuters. But protesters have vowed to stay put.

Opponents of the 1,170-mile Dakota Access Pipeline have gathered for months at the Oceti Sakowin camp, about 40 miles south of Bismarck. The Standing Rock Sioux and other Native American tribes fear the pipeline could pollute the Missouri River and harm sacred cultural lands and tribal burial grounds.

The veterans’ plan runs up against the evacuation order issued on Monday by Governor Jack Dalrymple because of the weather.

A winter storm on Monday dumped about 6 inches of snow and brought strong winds, making roads “nearly impassable at the camp sites,’’ according to Doualy Xaykaothao of Minnesota Public Radio.

According to the governor’s statement, “Any person who chooses to enter, reenter, or stay in the evacuation area does so at their own risk.’’

The veterans’ effort also will coincide with a plan by the Army Corps of Engineers to close off access to the protesters’ campsite and create a “free speech zone.’’ Federal officials said anyone found on the land after Dec. 5 could be charged with trespassing.

New York Times