The cavalry arrives: Veterans bring 'symbolic value' and support to Standing Rock

With local authorities saying they will arrest protesters of the Dakota Access pipeline who refuse to leave federal lands by the end of Monday, hundreds of veterans are traveling to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation this weekend to join the self-described "water protectors."

Organizers with Veterans Stand for Standing Rock, the group behind the effort, says numbers could reach up to the 2,000-person cap they’ve set on attendance, and a crowdfunding drive launched by the group had garnered more than $990,000 of the $1.2 million goal by Saturday morning. 

Widely regarded as a voice with special moral weight, the veterans hope to galvanize sympathy for demonstrators before the standoff comes to a head on Monday.