MINNEAPOLIS – Protestors with Black Lives Matter converged on the Mall of America, the nearby Minneapolis-St.Paul airport, and more venues in that city and others Wednesday.
The airport remained open despite roadways being blocked by protesters, the Minneapolis-St.Paul airport reported this afternoon. Reportedly, four protestors were arrested at the mall, and the rest were kicked out by police, which prompted them to move to the airport.
The protests stem from the killings of black men by police, most notably in Minneapolis Jamal Clark, who was shot in the head as he was arrested during a domestic incident back in November.
According to Black Lives Matter Minneapolis:
Today we shut down the Mall of America, Minneapolis Airport, and light rail as part of a nationally coordinated protest. Actions happened in six U.S. cities, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, the SF Bay Area, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Chattanooga. We are protesting the continued unmitigated state sanctioned violence against Black people and communities of color. We protest the continued denial of justice for Black people and Black communities. We want a complete overhaul of the justice system both locally and nationally. Just days after the non-indictment decision in Sandra Bland’s murder in Texas and two months after the fatal police shooting of Jamar Clark in Minnesota, we continue to demand justice, including the release of the tapes in the Jamar Clark case. Grand juries do not get justice for Black people when they are murdered by police, this is just one way the system is setup and works against Black people. We also continue to make the following demands:
-Prosecute the police involved without a grand jury and by a special prosecutor
-Federal domestic terrorism charges against white supremacists who shot 5 protestors
-Institute a safety plan to protect our communities from Police violence
-Disinvest from police and reinvest in Black futuresWe blocked entrances at both terminals of the airport to also protest Islamophobia and anti-black racism in airport policing. We protest the airport’s discriminatory profiling practices against Black people and anyone who is perceived to be Muslim, as part of a larger system that continues to kill and harm Black people without any justice. The continued relentless violence against Black people is appalling and morally repugnant. The fact that Black people get constantly harassed by police forces at every level, local and federal, in airports, malls, and on the streets of America is no longer acceptable. The fact that too many are tried, sentenced, and executed with no justice on the streets is why we protest. We will continue to protest until we get justice for Jamar Clark, until the tapes are released and the rest of our demands are met. We will not give up and we will not give in. Until there is justice, there will be no peace. 2016 is coming, so are we.
Random arrests happening at MSP Airport. Like this one – he clearly did NOT touch the policewoman but was instead assaulted. Today, the only danger at the MOA, the light rail & the airports were hundreds of agitated & armed riot cops escalating, arresting & mercilessly punching peaceful protesters.#BlackLivesMatter #Justice4Jamar #BlackXmas(video: bengarvin)
Posted by Jigme Ugen on Wednesday, December 23, 2015
People have been protesting since back in the fifties and got no where! figure it out people NOT the way to go!
Have you even studied history at all?
The civil rights movement, the student movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, the women’s movement, the gay rights movement, and the environmental movement. Each, to varying degrees, changed government policy and, perhaps more importantly, changed how almost every American lives today.
Supporters of these movements questioned traditional practices about how people were treated.
Why did black and white children attend separate schools?
Why were women prevented from holding certain jobs?
Why could a person be drafted at 18 but not able to vote until 21? This questioning inspired people to begin organizing movements to fight against injustice and for equal rights for all people.
In addition, they did not use traditional methods of political activity. Instead of voting for a political candidate and then hoping that the elected official would make good policies, these protesters believed in a more direct democracy.
They took direct action—public marches, picketing, sit-ins, rallies, petition drives, and teach-ins—to win converts to their causes and change public policies at the local, state, and federal levels.
They contributed their time, energy, and passion with the hope of making a better, more just society for all.
Look close – more than a few cops/etc are wearing their gun just above the knee – either their so fat they can’t find a big enough belt or their arm has so much fat on it they cannot reach up for their weapon of mass distruction
I seen on tv some of those 275 lbs police women throwing people to the ground – hey! if its a female its okay – she was afraid of that 140 lb man who looked homeless.
“Actions happened in six cities…” And at least five of the six are run by dumbocrats. I don’t know about Chattanooga. Does anybody see a pattern here? Funded by Soros, run by dumocrats. Hmm.
And there is a big one planned in Chicago this weekend. That is a long time liberal city that has been run by Democrats for years and years. Of course the liberal mayor (which is another name for crooked) is vacationing in Cuba.
That pesky 1st amendment.
Free speech is about content, not venue.
I’m talking about prosecuting people who organize activities which violate current law.
It is not legal to trespass.
It is not legal to disrupt public infrastructure.
Individuals who did so alone would be arrested on the spot.
BLM gets away with what they do because they organize mass violations which exceed the capacity of law enforcement to handle.
If hundreds participated and only a few were charged then just a few broke the law. End of story.
Not end of story.
Did you even read the last sentence of their statement?
“Until there is justice, there will be no peace. 2016 is coming, so are we.”
The Mall of America is PRIVATE property.
They have no right to stage their protest on private property.
As I said, mass protests exceed the capacity of law enforcement to handle for arrests.
They do have to right to peaceful assembly & protest, but not just wherever they choose to.
End of the story unless the Police determine that the law has been broken and charges are brought against the perpetrator(s). Just because you say certain acts are illegal doesn’t make it so.
Annie Moose, if you think that is the end of the BLM movement story, your are sorely mistaken.
BLM will be around for a very long time to come. Its the new generation civil rights movement born. This time around more angry and more vocal. Born from outrage over cops killing unarmed black kids.
No one was hurt. There were many different races represented. This was a lawful protest and the 4 who were arrested were arrested because they didn’t obey the rules.
Yes, and they still broke the law. They shut down those legitimate businesses after being told not to go there. They interfered with people trying to make a living. They stopped airlines from taking off during one of the busiest travel days. They endangered people by backing up traffic on a busy highway. We have laws and a process and law abiding, good citizens follow them.. These people are funded by Soros who has his own agenda. They are nothing but criminal, law breaking, domestic Terrorist and thugs.
@Bodacious-And, I never said a word about what color their skin was, you did.
I didn’t say you said anything about race. But, now that you mention it, you have often used the word ‘thugs’ to refer to people of color. I was just pointing out that BLM isn’t just one race protesting and asking for equality, it is many races who see the treatment. whether overt or covert, of blacks in this country as something that needs to be improved. Merry Christmas.
Leave it to a liberal to try and place the race card for no reason. You people do that everytime you have nothing else to defend yourselves with. Thugs can and are any color or from any country as you well know. You are way out there on this one. I can see just fine and I saw all types of people in those illegal crowds. It just goes to show that criminals can be any race.
Are you campaigning for the role of Scrooge again this year?
Not at all. Merry Christmas to you too.
These people are nothing but domestic terrorist and thugs. They should all be jailed for interfering with honest, hard working people that are just trying to earn a living.
So you are all in and will fight for 2nd amendment to protect the rights that are important to you but to hell with 1st amendment and other people’s rights that are not important to you or you do not agree with?
Many of these Neanderthals pick and choose which amendments they uphold and those meant to be ignored. It just the nature of some who frequently pronounce wisdom on these pages.
You are way off the mark with your comment. The 1st amendment gives them free speech but does not allow them to trespass on private property and if they do they should be arrested. The 2nd amendment allows us to own guns to protect our family’s and ourselves fro liberal terrorist who want to take over our country. Now the same thing at all.
yet you feel you can carry your gun any where you please.
No, I do not. and there are places where guns are prohibited and private places as well where they are not allowed. Law abiding people obey the law and do not disrupt other people’s lives like these domestic terrorist do.
I get you point now. Thanks for the debate with out the name calling!
Merry Christmas to you and your family LVS.
liberal mayor (which is another name for crooked)
fro liberal terrorist who want to take over our country.
Yep, LVS didn’t call anyone names. Not.
If they’d get a job they wouldn’t have time to protest. Just saying.