People Arrested As #BlackLivesMatter Protests Shut Down Mall of America

Though Janisch did not issue a temporary restraining order barring Black Lives Matter protesters as a group on Wednesday, Mall of America can remove, with the help of law enforcement, any person who participates in an unauthorized protest.

Television footage showed protesters chanting, “Shut it down!”

Separately, another eight people were arrested in a small demonstration in San Francisco, reports said, on what the activist group branded “Black Xmas”.

Stores on the east side of the mall were closed Wednesday morning in expectation of the protest, two store managers told CNN.

Organizers with Black Lives Matter Minneapolis had announced plans to protest at the Mall of America as they did before Christmas one year ago, but they expanded the protest beyond the mall, splintering into smaller groups to take over several light-rail stations and Minneapolis-St.

The hashtag #BlackxMas2 came about on Twitter as Minneapolis protesters decamped from the mall to the airport. “Now!” Protesters peacefully went to a nearby light-rail train station that allowed quick access to the airport a few miles away. “Because we will drag you out of that office for justice”.

Four people were arrested at the mall protest, which started about an hour earlier, mostly for trespassing and disorderly conduct, according to Bloomington Police Deputy Chief Denis Otterness.

Protesters said they would not cancel the demonstration seeking justice for Jamar Clark, who died after being shot by Minneapolis police in a scuffle November 15.

“They talk about this demonstration as being disruptive”, Seratoff said.

While the widespread protests sent police, Metro Transit and airport leaders scrambling to respond to the ever-shifting disruptions, the response from both sides remained relatively peaceful. Activists say he was shot in the head while handcuffed. At least two protesters were arrested near Terminal 2.

Police quickly closed the mall’s main entrances and threatened arrests. Security guards cordoned off parts of the central rotunda, and officers from several cities patrolled inside.

A similar demonstration at the Mall of America last December drew hundreds of protesters angry over the absence of charges following the police killings of unarmed black men in New York City and Ferguson, Missouri.

On Tuesday, the mall sought a court order to prevent the planned protest, which would impede shoppers and cause businesses to lose money on one of the final days before the Christmas holiday.

Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said Thursday that there’s no reason to believe there will be a repeat of protests that led to traffic backups and security checkpoint shutdowns at a secondary terminal Wednesday. Stores in the mall had to close, and dozens of people were arrested.