Since July 7, protestors have camped outside of the Governor’s mansion in Minnesota following the shooting death of Black man Philando Castile at the hands of law enforcement, and today [Wednesday, July 27] police say dozens of them were arrested.
Yesterday 46 people were officially arrested for public nuisance and unlawful assembly near the mansion on Summit Avenue as police officers attempted to reopen the street on several occasions.
Governor Mark Dayton, who is currently in Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention, has said protesters are welcome to stay outside of his residence as long as they wanted, following the death of Castile, which he suggests was race related.
According to spokesman Sam Fettig, the governor had no role in the decision that was made to clear the protestors out of the streets.
Additional arrests were made early Wednesday morning as police arrested 23 more individuals under the same charges.
Early Tuesday morning, some protestors began gathering their belongings after police issued dispersal orders. At around 11 a.m., three demonstrators were arrested on the sidewalk, while another was arrested for allegedly removing a “No Parking” sign on a curb.
When officers attempted to arrest this individual, other demonstrators locked arms, forming a human chain, prompting multiple arrests.
Others arrested included those who were standing and sitting in the middle of the street, refusing to leave even after those dispersal orders, police say.
“I’m not telling the people to move. They deserve to be out here,” said Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis NAACP. “We don’t need to be treated like animals and criminals when we’re simply out here demanding justice for someone who didn’t deserve to be killed.”
