Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis Police evicted nearly 100 residents from the empty lot turned encampment off 29th Street and 14th Avenue on July 20, 2022. Some residents were woken up by police pointing guns at them while yelling that they’re “trespassed” and they must leave…
Saint Paul, MN – Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison on Thursday, July 7, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson. Chauvin, who had pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations in December 2021, has been incarcerated…
Minneapolis, MN – Two years ago today, Minneapolis Police killed George Floyd, a 46-year-old father of five, over a suspected counterfeit twenty-dollar bill. Community-recorded video of his killing went viral and culminated into what was a historic uprising that saw the besiegement of the Minneapolis…
Minneapolis, MN – A ‘Boogaloo Bois’ member interview during 2020 unrest in Minneapolis triggered a wave of intra-agency information sharing which ultimately connected to a federal investigation and indictments. Documents obtained by Unicorn Riot, including emails from the Minneapolis Police (MPD) sent to the FBI,…
Minneapolis, MN – Nearly a year and a half has passed since the largest mass arrest in Minnesota history and many are still facing petty charges. On November 4, 2020, a massive police operation arrested at least 646 people on Interstate 94 during a post-election-day…
Minneapolis, MN – Two months after Minneapolis Police officer Mark Hanneman killed Amir Locke, 22, while executing a no-knock warrant, prosecutors say they won’t be charging Hanneman with a crime. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison released a 44-page joint…
Minneapolis, MN – Two months have now passed since the Minneapolis Police killed 22-year-old Amir Locke while serving a contentious no-knock warrant. To commemorate the one-month anniversary of Locke’s death, dozens participated in an autonomous march in South Minneapolis outside the 5th Precinct of the…
Minneapolis, MN – An autonomous protest for Amir Locke marched to the Minneapolis Police Department’s 5th Precinct and through the Uptown district, barricading the streets and leaving an array of anti-police messages painted in graffiti. The march on Friday night, February 11, featured around 100…
Minneapolis, MN – Nearly a week after a Minneapolis Police pre-dawn raid killed Amir Locke, hundreds marched in protest to the apartment building he was fatally shot in. The Tuesday night march circled from the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis to Bolero Flats…
Minneapolis, MN – Despite below freezing temperatures, community disdain over the killing of Amir Locke on February 2 has been widely shown to the authorities in a variety of ways in the days following.
Graffiti referencing Locke has been sprayed across the city landscape, including…
Minneapolis, MN – Several of the Minneapolis Police SWAT officers involved in the February 2 early morning killing of Amir Locke have violent and checkered pasts.
Officer Mark Hanneman, the shooter who killed Locke, had previously given illicit drugs to protesters in 2012; two officers…
Minneapolis, MN – Mark Hanneman, the Minneapolis Police officer who killed Amir Locke while executing a pre-dawn no-knock warrant, was heavily involved in giving illicit drugs to unhoused people and Occupy Wall Street protesters in 2012. At the time, Hanneman was an officer in the…
Minneapolis, MN – The City of Minneapolis released body camera footage from the pre-dawn no-knock warrant that ended with Minneapolis Police Officer Mark Hanneman killing Amir Locke. Video shows police entering the apartment unannounced with a key, then yelling “police search warrant” while walking down…
Minneapolis, MN – A SWAT officer from the Minneapolis Police Department killed a man after busting into a downtown Minneapolis apartment at 7 a.m. on February 2. The victim has been identified by the community as Amir Locke. He’s become the third Black man killed…
Minneapolis, MN – Unicorn Riot has obtained documents used to train Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) staff on political extremism. The training presentation is entitled “Political Extremists / Anarchists, a brief summary of groups that border the line between protest and domestic terrorism.” The MPD documents…
Minneapolis, MN – Five years after the mysterious death of Elisa Gomez, her family has lost faith in the Minneapolis Police (MPD) and are calling for a new investigation. Gomez was 47 years old when she was found dead just hours after being married to…
A Minneapolis city employee blew the whistle, and killed himself after he was identified and fired. Nearly six years later, there has been no official accountability nor substantive media coverage of this corrupt investigation.
Alan Ditty—union pipefitter, dedicated worker, son and brother*— died on March…
Conflict Resolution Group (CRG), the private security firm run by ex-mercenaries and hired by property owners, has assaulted, detained, threatened community members in Minneapolis.
Part 4 in the Series: 21st Century Jim Crow in the North Star City
Minneapolis has been ground zero for international outrage and seen nearly nonstop protests since Minneapolis police (MPD) murdered George Floyd over a year ago. Also since the murder of Floyd, the city of Minneapolis and the powers that be have shown contempt for protesters, with…
Minneapolis, MN – In a landmark ruling, Minnesota Fourth District Judge Peter Cahill sentenced convicted murderer and former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin to over 22 years in prison for the killing of George Floyd. This is now the longest sentence ever given to a…
Minneapolis, MN – Since Winston Smith was killed nearly two weeks ago in a secretive federal raid, no video evidence or any names of officers involved have been released. Minneapolis has seen another wave of protests not only because Smith was denied due process and…
A driver rammed his Jeep Cherokee at a high speed into a car protecting a crowd of Winston Smith protesters on Sunday night, killing the parked car's owner and injuring two others. A mainstay at the near-daily Winston Smith protests, 31-year-old Deona Marie was pronounced dead from her injuries after arriving to the hospital.
Minneapolis, MN – A five-day occupation demanding police accountability started the night of opening statements in the Derek Chauvin trial. Held outside and based on actions named ‘locks for love’, the occupation was led by Kaia Hirt, a high school teacher who chained herself to…
Minneapolis, MN – Newly released body camera footage from officers in the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) reveals a gang-like culture denigrating a central command community engagement officer. The videos also show a litany of micro-aggressions towards protesters, the general public and show the main aggressor,…
Minneapolis, MN – In just ten hours, the jury in the Derek Chauvin murder trial delivered guilty verdicts on all three counts for the killing of George Floyd. In the context of the state’s arguments, the verdict serves to show that Chauvin’s actions were an…
Minneapolis, MN – Nearly 75 people blocked Friday evening rush hour traffic at two busy Uptown Minneapolis intersections a day after a violent police attack during an attempted eviction of a houseless encampment. Large banners reading “No evictions on stolen land,” “free all political prisoners,”…
Minneapolis, MN – Around 7 a.m. on Thursday, March 18, police attempted an eviction of the Near North houseless encampment. Scuffles erupted between Minneapolis Police and people defending the camp which led to numerous injuries and five arrests. This incident came after the city’s Department…
