Prosecutor Charges Four Men in Minneapolis Protest Shooting

Officials have filed charges today against four men accused of shooting into a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis a week ago.

Protesters have been gathered since 25-year-old Jamar Clark was shot during a struggle with police on 15 November. None of the protesters suffered life-threatening injuries.

Authorities continue to look into whether to charge the four with hate crimes.

He said Allen “Lance” Scarsella, 23, was charged with one count of second-degree riot and five counts of second-degree assault with a risky weapon for shooting at the demonstrators.

Protesters have remained at the precinct since Clark was shot, with as few as a couple dozen to as many as several hundred. But some people who said they saw the shooting allege the 24-year-old was handcuffed. Three other men were charged with second-degree riot with a unsafe weapon. That officer described Scarsella’s opinions as being sovereign citizen, the complaint said. They say a scuffle followed and Clark was shot once in the head.

Scarsella also called another person, who is a police officer outside of the Twin Cities, to report he had shot five people. “We can take the sidewalk”, he said. He says he’s staying. He died in hospital a day later.

Some community members have alleged Clark was handcuffed when he was shot, which police have disputed.

Mayor Betsy Hodges said Monday the protest should end. During a snowy Monday morning, about seven campfires were burning to warm those who were milling about.

Scarsella lives in St. Paul and grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota, according to his Facebook page, where his cover photo features the one-starred “Bonnie Blue” flag often associated with the Confederacy. They say the Hennepin County attorney’s plan to submit the case to a grand jury likely will result in no prosecution of a police officer. Additional details weren’t immediately available.

City leaders say the occupation of the 4th Precinct has turned into a safety hazard.

All four men are in custody, and apparently, they’ve admitted in jailhouse phone conversations that they were at the shooting.

Prosecutors have until noon Monday to decide whether the men will be charged. Three are white and the fourth is Asian.

On the phone, that officer said, Scarsella was “very frightened.”

“They turned around and they just started shooting, and at first I wasn’t sure”, said Wronski-Riley. And prior to the shooting, one white demonstrator identified the men as extremists. The U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota and Justice Department prosecutors also say they will review evidence to see whether any civil rights statutes were violated. Two already have come about: release of names of the two officers involved in the Clark shooting and the launch of an independent federal investigation. The state agency that’s investigating the shooting, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said it’s looking into whether Clark was restrained.