Black Lives Matter protesters have gathered at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, on one of the busiest shopping days of the year to protest over the death of Jamar Clark, and other police killings in the Minneapolis area and across the United States.
Many of the protesters have left the mall and moved the protest to a light rail transit station nearby, according to the live stream, which can be watched above.
Crowd gathered outside at transit station. Chanting for Jamar Clark t.co/CsbQEhLX8t
Huge crowd boarding the light rail, departing Mall of America. #BlackXmas2 #BlackLivesMatter
The protesters took the light rail to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, which has also been shut down as a result:
MSP airport is shut down #BlackXmas
Entrances to airport shut down #Justice4Jamar #blackxmas2 @StarTribune
Mall of America officials have warned that anyone who is protesting will be subject to arrest because the mall is private property. Police inside the mall have issued a warning that the demonstration is unlawful and told protesters to leave.
The big warning goes up. #MOA
“Restraining order or not, on the day before Christmas Eve, protesters will assemble at the Mall of America; there will be cameras; and millions will be watching,” Black Lives Matter Minneapolis said in a Facebook post. “What happens next will tell us volumes about who we are as a society.”
Protests have hands up, silent walking around mall
According to tweets from reporters and protesters, there is a heavy police presence at the mall, which has gone into lockdown:
Police now out in full force, PA system urging shoppers to “seek shelter” as mall goes into lockdown.
At least one protester has been removed:
Protests have hands up, silent walking around mall
Last December, Black Lives Matter held a similar protest, which led to many arrests. Watch video from that below:
The protests in Minnesota have intensified in the past month after Clark, 24, was fatally shot during an arrest in North Minneapolis. Read more about that below:
