MINNEAPOLIS — Where exactly the murder case against Derek Chauvin is headed remains unclear, but activists outside the courthouse say they’re not leaving any time soon.
“And I’m going to tell you all something. I’m looking at my black sisters and brothers, my sons and daughters, mothers and fathers. Don’t be moved. Don’t get divided. We going to stick, we going to say, and we’re going to march on to f—— victory,” Kim Handy-Jones, a black woman who became an activist after her son, Cordale Handy, was shot and killed by St. Paul police officers in 2017, told a crowd of roughly 150 outside the Minneapolis courthouse on Monday morning. “We need justice, people. Justice by any means necessary.”
DEATH AND ‘AUTONOMOUS ZONE’ GRIP GEORGE FLOYD SQUARE AHEAD OF CHAUVIN TRIAL
Black Lives Matter and antifa-aligned activists shut down several streets surrounding the courthouse where the first day of Chauvin’s murder trial was quickly put on hold after the prosecution asked the court of appeals to review their request for the third-degree murder charges be reinstated.
For several hours, activists chanted and marched up and down city blocks in downtown Minneapolis, calling for justice and a guilty verdict against Chauvin.
Men and women donning all black and carrying walkie-talkies patrolled the streets behind protesters, diverting traffic and warning others of suspected law enforcement in the area.
Demonstrations remained entirely peaceful, despite nearby businesses boarding up their windows, with some posting signage informing would-be criminals that they held no cash.
One activist, who only went by Mary, said she felt disappointed by the judge’s decision to halt jury selection. The city, she said, needed release from the tension building since last summer’s riots.
“It never seems like the people get any justice. You really start to wonder about the delay,” she told the Washington Examiner. “How much more time do we need before justice is served?”
Despite promises of a heavy security presence, police and National Guard members remained almost entirely behind the new barriers wrapping around the courthouse and city hall. A traffic-enforcement officer tailed protesters as they marched toward U.S. Bank stadium.
The entire jury selection process for the trial could have to start over in 30 days, depending on what the court of appeals says. Even with that uncertainty, activists say they’ll meet every day outside the courthouse until a jury reaches a verdict against Chauvin.
At George Floyd Square, nearby residents said they expect violence in the evening, an opinion shared by one unnamed government official who spoke with the Washington Examiner.
“We have just under 100 soldiers deployed,” Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard Sean Mankey said in a Monday afternoon security briefing. “We hope for a quiet time as we move forward, and we’re prepared to increase or decrease that number depending on what happens with the trial as we move forward.”
Activists, who pledged peaceful demonstrations for the coming weeks and months, expressed resentment toward city officials trying to stop any violence before it starts.
Many who gathered to protest Floyd’s alleged murder believe that law enforcement exasperates tensions and only provokes those who demand justice.
Chants of “Boots. Boots. Boots on the ground. We’re here. We’re here. To shut this s— down,” broke out Saturday afternoon before protesters broke for lunch and a break.
“F— the police,” one individual yelled. “They killed my son. What did he do? They killed my son. Why did you do that to him?”
Judge Peter Cahill, who is overseeing the case, ended deliberations at 3 p.m. Although what charges Chauvin will face appears to be a bit of a mystery, both the prosecution and defense agreed, for now, to dismiss 16 of 50 prospective jurors after reviewing their questionnaires.
Court is scheduled to resume tomorrow morning, with Cahill pledging to move full speed ahead with the trial unless the appeals court says otherwise.
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“You took justice from us when you took us. F— 12. They took something from me I can never get back,” Handy-Jones said. “My kids, our kids, they took them from us.”
