Black Lives Matter protest: Mall of America partially shut and Minneapolis flights delayed
Police line up to move Black Lives Matter protestors out of the rotunda area of the Mall of America.
Protesters blocked roads and snarled holiday traffic around the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Wednesday after staging a rally that briefly shut down part of the nation’s largest mall.
Police said several people were arrested at the airport, where officials said access to one of two terminals was blocked, causing backups on nearby roads. Some protesters took a light-rail train to the airport from the Mall of America, where protesters started the Black Lives Matter rally to bring attention to the recent police shooting of a black man in Minneapolis.
Gov. Mark Dayton said the moving protest was creating a “very, very dangerous situation,” and he urged protesters to stop blocking access to part of the airport.
Black Lives Matter activists chant, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport light-rail stop.
Two checkpoints in an airport terminal were temporarily closed during the protest, and some flights were delayed.
The governor, a Democrat, questioned the need for such a demonstration, noting that federal and state investigations were ongoing into the death of Jamal Clark, who was shot by Minneapolis police responding to an assault complaint. Dayton said releasing video of officers’ altercation with Clark could jeopardize the investigations.
About 500 protesters initially gathered at the Mall of America, then abruptly walked out while chanting, “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” Protesters peacefully went to a nearby light-rail train station that allowed quick access to the airport a few miles away.
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Dozens of stores closed their gates, kiosks were covered and even Santa left his sleigh shortly before protesters gathered at the massive shopping district on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Numerous signs were posted on mall property saying no protests were allowed — including a long message on a screen in a central rotunda between two Christmas trees.
Police quickly closed the mall’s main entrances and threatened arrests.
A similar demonstration last December drew hundreds of demonstrators angry over the absence of charges after the police killings of unarmed black men in New York City and Ferguson, Mo. Stores in the mall had to close, and dozens of people were arrested.
The massive retail center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington houses an amusement park and more than 500 shops spread across four floors, attracting shoppers from around the globe.
Neither mall officials nor Bloomington police said what security measures they had put in place to prepare for the protest, though special-event staff members were searching bags and stationed at every mall entrance. Security guards cordoned off parts of the central rotunda, and officers from several cities patrolled inside.
The mall sought a court order blocking the planned protest. A judge on Tuesday barred three organizers from attending the demonstration, but said she didn’t have the power to block unidentified protesters associated with Black Lives Matter — or the movement as a whole — from showing up.
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