Bloomington, MN – Hundreds of protesters converged on the Mall of America in what was billed as another #BlackXmas mall protest. This time Black Lives Matter Minneapolis & other groups demanded justice for Jamar Clark, an independent prosecutor for the police officer that killed him, as well as releasing the incident tapes. Two days before Christmas, protesters rendezvoused at the Rotunda but then quickly left the mall and redirected their path toward the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) via light rail while chanting. In a nationally coordinated effort, another group of demonstrators blocked the inbound lanes at MSP Terminal 1 around 2PM CST.

Unicorn Riot set up several events to post video simultaneously. See this for camera 1 (MOA) and here for camera 2 (MSP).

Boarding light rail now at MOA https://t.co/3hddgOuN2p #BlackXmas #Justice4Jamar #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/xAQQ72LAK9

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) December 23, 2015

Here is quick recap of some of the action at the Mall of America:

The Terminal 1 group formed a soft blockade that held the inbound lanes for a little over 15 minutes blocking traffic for miles and prompting delays at the airport.

They blocked traffic from entering into the airport terminal and after multiple dispersal orders they began walking towards the terminal and unfurled an anti-Islamophobia banner in solidarity with Muslims who are profiled in the airport and around the world.

Despite following the dispersal orders, a line of riot police formed a blockade of the road in which the demonstrators were walking to follow the order of dispersal.

After multiple attempts by protesters to free themselves from the seemingly un-organized approach that the Bloomington Airport Police, State Troopers, and other security were taking, communication allowed for protesters to leave the scene without any arrests. Unicorn Riot provided live video feeds from both the MOA & MSP Airport sides of the protest. The Twitter feed of MSP Airport sent these updates about the blockades:

Protesters are currently blocking the Terminal 1-Lindbergh inbound roadway, causing traffic backups. Leave extra early to allow time.

— MSP Airport (@mspairport) December 23, 2015

Roadways at Terminal 2-Humphrey are also currently being blocked by protesters, causing significant traffic backups.

— MSP Airport (@mspairport) December 23, 2015

Below is a video posted from Mike Griffin‘s airplane ride, where a pilot is explaining the delaying of their flight. Mike then says he was “stopped by TSA who called police when I got off plane in Detroit. Complaint about my tweets.” :

Video from pilot on @SouthwestAir apologizing for delayed flight bc of @BlackLivesMpls. #BlackXmas2 #MOASueMeToo pic.twitter.com/156ze5of7B

— Mike Griffin (@votegriffin) December 23, 2015

We hear there have been possibly thirteen people arrested*Updated 12/24/15* at today’s actions. There is an event page hosted by the Twin Cities IWW General Defense Committee on facebook for a call-in to support the arrestees. Here is a video of one of the arrests:

One arrest happened now at MOA https://t.co/3hddgOuN2p #BlackXmas #Justice4Jamar #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/i4aIEWQKAQ

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) December 23, 2015

The shutdown occurred as part of a national plan for actions across the nation simultaneously. Meanwhile, other groups supportive of the Black Liberation Movement across the United States undertook similar actions, including blocking the approach to the San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles as well as a highway in the Chattanooga area.

Livesteam footage:

 

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