Mall of America protest ‘decoy’ for airport blockade

Minneapolis: Black Lives Matter held demonstrations in Minnesota and California on Wednesday to protest police killings of unarmed blacks, dubbing the day “Black Xmas” to show it could affect the economy on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

“Black communities across the United States are taking brave 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.

“There will be no business as usual until we get accountability for our dead, and justice for the living,” the group said. “Instead of buying gifts to fuel this system, Black Xmas is a day of action.” The loosely organised movement grew out of protests over police killings of black men in Ferguson, Missouri, New York and other cities.

Citing the lack of an indictment Monday related to the death of Sandra Bland, a black woman who died by hanging in an apparent suicide in a jail cell following a controversial traffic stop, Black Lives Matter on Wednesday called for police accountability and the removal of grand juries in cases involving police shootings.

The Mall of America was used as “a decoy” to start a protest that quickly moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and blocked a terminal on a busy holiday travel day, one organiser of the demonstration said.

Access to one of two terminals was closed after more than 100 protesters gathered inside and blocked roads leading to the airport Wednesday, airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said. He said the protest caused some flight delays but no cancellations.

Protesters hoping to draw attention to the police shooting last month of a black man in Minneapolis had described in advance their plans to target the mall, but not the airport. They started at the shopping haven in suburban Bloomington, where there was a heavy police presence, then took a light-rail train to the airport.

“The mall was a decoy,” said Black Lives Matter organiser Miski Noor, who protested at the airport. “I think it was really effective.”

Police said a total of 15 people were arrested at both sites, mostly for trespassing or obstruction of justice. No injuries or property damage were reported. Officials said that traffic at the airport was back to normal by Wednesday evening and that about 80 stores at the mall were closed for about an hour as officers escorted protesters off the property.

“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,” Michelle Barnes of Minneapolis, one of the protest organisers, told the Star Tribune.

Governor Mark Dayton said the moving protest created a “very, very dangerous situation.”

Dayton questioned the need for such a demonstration, noting that federal and state investigations were ongoing into the death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark, who was fatally shot by Minneapolis police responding to an assault complaint. The governor said releasing video of officers’ altercation with Clark, as demanded by protesters, could jeopardise the investigations.

Before protesters gathered at the mall, stores temporarily closed their gates, kiosks were covered and even Santa left his sleigh. Numerous signs were posted saying no protests were allowed — including a long message on a screen in a central rotunda between two Christmas trees.

That didn’t deter Art Seratoff, a 67-year-old protester from Minneapolis.

“They talk about this demonstration as being disruptive,” Seratoff said. “If I think about an unemployment rate in the African-American community three times the white unemployment rate, that’s disruptive.”

About 500 protesters briefly gathered at the mall before abruptly walking out while chanting, “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” The crowd then headed to the light-rail station and onto the airport.

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. Stores in the mall had to close, and dozens of people were arrested.

Meanwhile, California Highway Patrol said it arrested nine female protesters blocking southbound traffic on the 101 freeway near the San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday.

Images of the demonstrators uploaded to social media showed them holding a sign demanding justice for Mario Woods, a black man suspected of a San Francisco stabbing, who police shot dead.

Earlier, hundreds of people had gathered at the Minnesota mall, one of the largest in North America, where organisers for Black Lives Matter had promised to assemble despite a judge’s warning that its owners could legally block the protest.

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. Some stores closed for about an hour.

Just before last Christmas, more than 1,500 Black Lives Matter protesters shut down part of the same mall as they demonstrated against grand jury decisions not to charge police officers in the killings in Ferguson and New York.

The night before this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York, members of the group marched through Macy’s Herald Square flagship store to show solidarity with the Minneapolis chapter.