Security Heavy At MSP Airport Day after Protests

A judge ruled Tuesday that several local Black Lives Matter organizers cannot demonstrate at the Mall of America on the busy shopping day before Christmas Eve, but she said she couldn’t stop others from attending the protest.

What do you think of the Black Lives Matter protests at the Mall of America and the Minneapolis- St. Paul International Airport?

Twelve people were reportedly arrested on charges ranging from trespassing and disorderly conduct, to failure to obey lawful order.

Under the hastags #BlackXmas2 and #Justice4Jamar, Black Lives Matter Minneapolis’s Facebook and Twitter pages helped spread the word of the Mall of America protest on Wednesday.

Clark was reportedly shot by an officer in November as police were responding to an assault complaint.

The activists accuse police agencies nationwide of bias against the black community. Eight more people were arrested at the airport, CNN affiliate WCCO reported. The governor said releasing video of officers’ altercation with Clark, as demanded by protesters, could jeopardize the investigations.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of activists showed up at the Mall of America, defying a large security presence and clearly posted messages that the planned protest was illegal.

Protesters, some wearing shirts scrawled with the slogan “Black Lives Matters” gathered at the mall in the afternoon.

The privately owned mall says another demonstration would mean lost sales, mirroring a major protest past year.

“We accomplished exactly what we came here to accomplish-we wanted to shut down the highway, shut down the airport and show solidarity with other Black Lives Matter groups”, one protested named Michelle Barnes told the Star Tribune.

Once protesters departed from the Mall of America, a number of them went to a nearby light-rail train station, boarding trains headed to the airport, where demonstrators would block access to Terminal 2, shutting security lines for about 45 minutes.

After a series of fatal shootings of black men by white police officers across the nation in the past two years, the movement has gained increased fame and influence for holding peaceful protests in major USA cities to seek justice for African Americans.

Gov. Mark Dayton says the moving protest that led to disruptions at the Mall of America and Minnesota’s main airport has created a “very, very risky situation”. “You got Hip Hop and all these different leaders involved because it’s getting out of control and it’s something that we don’t want to see”.

The protest happened after a judge issued a restraining order barring three organizers of the protest from taking part in the rally.

However, the judge said she could not grant an injunction against Black Lives Matter Minneapolis in general, as they were not a legally recognized entity.