Protesters in Chicago plan to block shoppers from the city’s renowned Magnificent Mile Thursday to protest police brutality, one day after demonstrators in Minnesota stormed the Mall of America and blocked terminals in the Minneapolis airport.
Organizers hope the Christmas Eve demonstration will be a repeat of another Chicago protest when hundreds of people disrupted shopping on Michigan Avenue on Black Friday, Fox News reported.
A group referring to itself as The Coalition for a New Chicago plans to start the march at noon at the south end of the Magnificent Mile shopping district and move north.
The protest is the latest in a string of demonstrations in Chicago in response to the release last month of police dashcam video showing the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. McDonald was armed with a knife, but appeared to be walking away from officers before being shot in October 2014.
On Wednesday protesters in Minneapolis blocked at least two terminals at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Demonstrators had planned a massive protest at the Mall of America, but some said that was just a cover-up to draw police attention away from the airport, where the real demonstration occurred, The Associated Press reported.
On Thursday, police were out in full force at the airport to ensure smooth Christmas Eve travel. Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said eight people were arrested at the airport during the Black Lives Matter-organized protest that began at the nearby Mall of America.
He said six people were cited on trespass charges and released while two were taken into custody on gross misdemeanor charges. Bloomington police reported four protest-related arrests at the mall.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.