This morning, Jamar Clark’s family members delivered the news that Minneapolis protesters dreaded: that he had been taken off life support Monday night. Clark was shot by a Minneapolis police officer early Sunday morning following a brief struggle in which several witnesses claim he was subdued and in handcuffs. Black Lives Matter protesters began moving Sunday, organizing marches and a sit-in in front of a police precinct. Monday, protesters closed off 1-94W. According to the Star Tribune:
By 6:45 p.m. Monday, about 100 protesters had moved across Interstate 94 south of Broadway, where they linked arms and blocked traffic lanes for more than two hours before State Patrol officers moved in and arrested 43 adults and eight juveniles, said Lt. Tiffani Schweigart of the State Patrol. Officers and troopers led the cuffed protesters one by one to waiting Metro Transit buses.
Those arrested likely will be cited for unlawful assembly and being pedestrians on the freeway, which are misdemeanors, she said.
The protests and arrests came after Black Lives Matter activists and the local NAACP chapter made renewed demands, including a federal investigation and a release of the video of the shooting. However, officers on the scene of the shooting were not wearing body cameras and police representatives will not confirm if another video exists. Representative Keith Ellison also joined in demands for a federal investigation, according to CBS Minnesota. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges announced that federal investigators would work alongside state and local investigators.