Minneapolis, MN – More than 200 people gathered January 30 to celebrate the life of Twin Cities activist Gabriel Johnson-Ortiz, who passed away Jan. 17 at age 34 after a four-and-a-half-year struggle with brain cancer. His passing is a great loss to his family, friends and comrades from a variety of progressive political and cultural movements.
Minneapolis, MN – About a dozen people from Occupy MN/Minneapolis interrupted a Hennepin County Commissioners Board meeting Dec. 13, demanding an end to county attacks on the Occupy movement and the People's Plaza.
Minneapolis, MN – About 100 supporters and participants of Occupy Minneapolis gathered at People’s Plaza here, Dec. 11. They hung signs advancing the demands of the 99%, using clothespins on ropes tied to plaza light poles, pounding staked signs into frozen planters and taping their messages onto poles and benches.
Minneapolis, MN – El 6 de diciembre, fue un día de acción nacional a favor de aquellas familias en peligro de perder sus casas debido a la ejecución hipotecaria. Para ello más de 100 personas se congregaron frente a la casa de Bobby Hull en la 3712 Columbus Ave. Sur, Minneapolis, y anunciaron el inicio de una ocupación de su casa para garantizar que el banco US Bank no le saque de su casa.
Minneapolis, MN – On Dec. 6, a national day of action for occupying foreclosed homes, more than 100 people rallied here in front of Bobby Hull’s house at 3712 Columbus Avenue. They announced the start of an occupation of his home to prevent US Bank from kicking Hull and his family out of their home.
Minneapolis, MN – Supporters of Occupy Minneapolis rallied here Dec. 6 to protest this morning’s raid by Hennepin County Sheriff. They vowed to continue the struggle.
St. Paul, MN – The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a lawsuit against Hennepin County, Nov. 22 on behalf of Occupy Minneapolis. The lawsuit argues that the county’s new restrictions on the OccupyMPLS unconstitutionally restrict the demonstrators’ free speech rights. OccupyMPLS has been continuously occupying the Hennepin County Government Center Plaza, since renamed People’s Plaza, since Oct. 7 to express their frustration with the growing economic and political inequities in this country.
Minneapolis, MN – About 800 people blocked a major bridge here, Nov. 17 in a march demanding jobs. Police declared the protest to be an unlawful assembly and arrested 11 people who sat down in an act of civil disobedience. The 10th Avenue Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River, was closed for about an hour.
Largest crowd in weeks to sleep in plaza in defiance of new county ban
Minneapolis, MN – About 400 people rallied at People’s Plaza and marched through downtown Minneapolis on November 14 in defense of OccupyMN. After the march they returned to the plaza and filled it with blankets and sleeping bags for a mass ‘sleep-in’ in defiance of Hennepin County’s new rules banning sleeping in the plaza. As of 10:00 p.m. the County authorities have not moved to clear the plaza.
Minneapolis, MN – About 150 gathered at People’s Plaza, the site of OccupyMN for a rally, Nov. 11, demanding “Money for human needs, not for war.” The protest, on Veteran’s Day, included speakers from Veterans for Peace, the Anti-War Committee, Women Against Military Madness, and others.
Minneapolis, MN – 150 people chanted “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!” Nov. 8, at a rally to begin an occupation in support of North Minneapolis home owner, Monique White. White, who lives at 3310 N 6th St, is facing imminent eviction from her foreclosed home. The house and fence around it were hung with banners and signs saying, “Housing is a Human Right”, “25,673 Foreclosures in MN: US Bank Corp CEO Richard Davis 18.8 million dollar/yr salary”, “Foreclose Free Zone.” Six tents were set up in the yard for occupiers to spend the night.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee on the threat by county officials to shut down OccupyMN. On Nov. 8 the Hennepin County Board voted to place severe restrictions on the encampment at People's Plaza, which are slated to go into effect Nov. 14. In addition, Hennepin County Sheriff Rick Stanek has waged a media campaign aimed at discrediting the occupation.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 union activists, as well as OccupyMN participants and others, rallied outside the University of Minnesota’s McNamara Alumni Center on Nov. 8 to protest a speech by Wells Fargo CEO Jon Stumpf.
_Protesters denounce new Hennepin County threats to end OccupyMN _
Minneapolis, MN – More than 200 people gathered at People’s Plaza in Minneapolis, Nov. 2, to stand up for the right of assembly and to protest government repression of the Occupy movement around the country, particularly in Oakland, California. Speakers at the rally also denounced a new statement by Hennepin County threatening to end the OccupyMN occupation here in Minneapolis when the temperature hits 25 degrees or at the first snowfall.
Minneapolis, MN – About 600 people, chanting “the banks got bailed out, we got sold out,” joined Occupy MN, along with labor unions and community groups for a march on the banks here, Oct. 29. The protest coincided with the anniversary of the 1929 Stock Market Crash.
Minneapolis, MN – Following a march on the banks here, October 29, more than 40 people attended a teach-in organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Entitled, “How capitalism works, and why it doesn’t work for the 99%,” the event brought together activists for a serious discussion on what is wrong with the capitalist system.
Minneapolis, MN – About 150 people joined the American Indian Movement, the Indigenous Environmental Network and OccupyMN for a rally and march to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline, Oct. 27. Speaking in front of the Canadian Consulate, Clyde Bellecourt, of the American Indian Movement expressed solidarity with OccupyMN, denounced the oppression of native peoples and urged support for the movement to bock the pipeline.
Minneapolis, MN – Students from colleges and universities across the Twin Cities gathered for the second week in a row, Oct. 19, at the Occupy MN space in downtown Minneapolis.
Minneapolis, MN – Seven people were arrested as over 100 people from OccupyMN protested outside of U.S. Bank Plaza, Oct. 20. The seven arrested set up tents outside the bank and blocked traffic at a major downtown intersection. The protest highlighted the hypocrisy of big banks foreclosing people’s homes while U.S. Bank’s bosses’ pay doubled over the past year and the bank rakes in record profits.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 500 people marched here, Oct. 15, to mark the tenth year of the U.S. war in Afghanistan with a call for an end to the occupation and for U.S. troops to be brought home now.