Minneapolis, MN – A group of 30 clergy, demanding justice for Jamar Clark, took over the rotunda at City Hall this morning, Dec. 1. Hundreds will rally this afternoon at the Hennepin County Government Center, at 4:00 pm, in the wake of County Attorney Mike Freeman’s failure to bring attempted murder charges against white supremacists who shot five protesters.

“Our elected officials and so called community ‘leaders’ have found common ground, not to call for justice for Jamar Clark, but to provide political cover for more violence against peaceful protesters at the Fourth Precinct,” stated organizer and Pastor Danny Givens. “We have endured a terrorist attack by armed white supremacists, police aggression with mace, less lethal projectiles and batons, and freezing temperatures, and we're not going to be intimated now.”

Black Lives Matter Minneapolis is calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor and demanding that the officers involved be directly prosecuted without involving a grand jury, given that over 97% of cases involving police killings end without indictment.

“Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman can charge directly from the complaint, and we request that he do so at this time and does not call a grand jury,” said Lena K. Gardner, organizer with Black Lives Matter Minneapolis.

Community members have held a 24/7 occupation of the Fourth Precinct for the past two weeks to demand justice for Jamar Clark, an unarmed black man who was shot in the head by police.

The community is continuing to demand for officials to publicly call to #ReleaseTheTapes, especially in light of the Laquan McDonald case in Chicago, where tapes of an officer shooting a teen 16 times were withheld for 400 days.

Yesterday, Mayor Hodges renewed her call for demonstrators to abandon the Fourth Precinct, while ignoring the demands of the protesters. “If Mayor Hodges is so concerned about safety, she should join us and call for the appointment of special prosecutor to investigate Jamar Clark’s murder to avoid using a broken grand jury system,” said organizer Miski Noor.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #JamarClark

Black Lives Matter Minneapolis responded, saying, “[These] community ‘leaders’ are giving political cover to police to violently attack peaceful protestors yet again, and are more concerned with ending the #‎4thPrecinctShutDown‬ than ensuring #‎Justice4Jamar‬.”

That afternoon, police made a number of moves that suggested plans to evict the protesters. Police cars

with lights flashing were set up a block out from the encampment, scaffolding was erected behind the precinct walls and riot shields were set out at the ready. Defying the politicians’ warnings and the police posturing, hundreds came out in the snow and cold to hold the protest space until their demands are met. As of midnight, police had made no move, and dozens of protesters were set to stay another night.

Also on Nov. 30, four men were charged in last week’s shooting of protesters at the encampment. Their attack followed racist video threats posted on the internet, and the shooting put five protesters in the hospital. Allen Lawrence Scarsella was charged with five counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of second-degree riot. Three other men were charged with second-degree riot with a dangerous weapon. Protesters are disgusted that Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman declined to charge the men with attempted murder and hate crimes.

All of this comes on the heels of the announcement that rather than charge the police officers involved in the killing of Jamar Clark, County Attorney Freemen will send the case to a grand jury. “A year ago tonight we took over highway 55 in response to a grand jury clearing the officer who killed Mike Brown of wrongdoing. Tonight we're camping in front of a police station with the eyes of the nation on Minneapolis to demand they not use the same broken grand jury system in the Jamar Clark case,” organizers stated.

The cover-up of the police killing of Laquan McDonald in Chicago is also on the minds of Minneapolis protesters, who are refusing to back down until the Minnesota authorities release the tapes in this case. According to Adja Gildersleve of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, “Ultimately, that is what we want here in Minneapolis in the Jamar Clark case. We’ve seen too many horrific tapes of police violence without prosecution and conviction. We are inspired by what is happening in Chicago and we hope that officers in both cases face the same scrutiny murderers face in due process.”

As the precinct occupation continues, other actions are unfolding every day. These include a #ReleaseTheTapes rally has been called for Dec. 1 at 4:00 p.m. outside the Hennepin County Government Center, and a Northside Community Meeting that will take place on Saturday, Dec. 5, at Franklin Middle School.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #JusticeForJamar