Demonstrators remained in the Mall of America for about an hour and a half.
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Access to one of two terminals was closed after more than 100 protesters gathered inside and blocked roads leading to the airport, prompting two security checkpoints to shut down for about 45 minutes, airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said.
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John Reinan, a bystander at the mall, estimated that the crowd was about 600 people, “based on actually counting heads”.
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Dayton often has criticized Black Lives Matter tactics while supporting their aims.
Four people were arrested by Bloomington Police, the Mall of America said.
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.
Traffic along Highway 5 and the roads into the terminals were at a standstill, and, even after the protesters were told to disperse by local law enforcement, would continue to be severely backed up for the rest of the day.
“Black communities across the United States are taking courageous actions to impede the flow of goods and commerce with peaceful protests to call for an immediate overhaul of the justice system”, Black Lives Matter said in a statement on Facebook. Susan Gaertner, an attorney representing the mall, said it does not allow any demonstrations on the property.
Some of the dispersed protesters left the mall and boarded trains to the airport, CNN affiliate WCCO reported.
The protests began at the Mall of America, the nation’s largest mall, according to ABC News.
Police and mall security quickly moved in, warning that any who did not leave would be arrested for violating mall policy against demonstrations and alerting shoppers that that area of the mall was on lockdown. “Travelers will make it to the airport on-time”, CHP Capt. Christopher Sherry said on Twitter. Video taken from spectators and protesters show an influx of people of many races and backgrounds filling the rotunda, advocating for the release of police footage from the shooting of Jamar Clark. “Because we will drag you out of that office for justice”. A judge on Tuesday barred three organizers from attending the demonstration, but said she didn’t have the power to block unidentified protesters from showing up.
Kandace Montgomery, one of three organizers barred by the judge’s order, said the group isn’t deterred by the ban.
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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 unsafe situation”.
