On March 12, Toya Woodland went to the Perpich School for the Arts to address dorm staffs’ derogatory comments to her son, Toyvon Campbell. In her conversation with the staff, she allegedly stated that she would “shut down” (Black Lives Matter terminology for protest) the school due to their mistreatment of Toyvon, their racial profiling and overall racial bias.

In an effort to silence Woodland, the dorm staff and assistant principal called the police and alleged that she would shoot up the school and shoot the dorm staff. Due to these allegations, Minister Toya Woodland, named Toya Brantley in the complaint, was charged with terroristic threats.

Minister Toya Woodland is a Black Lives Matter activist who is currently organizing with Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J). Before that, she was active with BLM Minneapolis during the Fourth Precinct occupation for Jamar Clark. In addition to her community activism, Woodland is a minister at Christ Temple Apostolic Church.

The events leading up to Minister Toya Woodland’s arrest are like many of the stories which highlight the attacks on African-American people across the United States, ranging from derogatory comments to casting her son as a monkey for a school play. Woodland has been in contact with the school since Dec. 16, 2017, when she contacted Curt Tryggestad, the director of Perpich Arts High School, along with principal Ahava Silkey-Jones, regarding the overall racist climate of the school. On March 11, the day before Woodland was arrested, her son posted an exposé review of the Perpich school on Facebook.

Toyvon Campbell is one of the four remaining Black students left at the Perpich school. When speaking on his mother’s experience, he stated, “When I arrived home that day, the place was torn apart. I didn’t know what happened. I was worried because I had no idea what happened to my mom. She disappeared.”

Perpich School for the Arts stated they are not pursuing charges and are currently seeking an outside mediator to resolve issues. However, charges continue.

Loretta VanPelt, TCC4J organizer stated, “In the U.S., Black women and the Black family are constantly under attack by a system which uses white supremacy to destroy all working people. The injustice system wishes to silence Toya and destroy her because she stood up for her son Toyvon and for Black people who are oppressed every day by police crimes and terror in our communities.”

TCC4J, which is also is currently pushing for community control of the police in Minneapolis, is leading a “Drop the charges against Toya Brantley AKA Minister Toya” campaign, urging people to call country prosecutors at 612-348-5540 to demand that they drop the charges.

#MinneapolisMN #InJusticeSystem #US #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #politicalRepression #BlackLivesMatter #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJustice4JamarClark #PerpichArtsHighSchool

Minneapolis, MN – On May 3, around 50 people gathered for a remembrance of Jamar Clark’s birthday. The event was called by the Burns’ side of Jamar Clark’s family with support from the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J).

TCC4J is an organization that took up organizing and won the ‘No Grand Jury’ campaign after the Fourth Precinct occupation and has continued the fight against police crimes. Most recently, TCC4J has taken up a campaign for community control of the Minneapolis Police Department.

The demonstration began at 5:30 p.m. when the North Side community, TCC4J, friends, and family gathered at the memorial sight off Plymouth and James. This site is where Jamar Clark was murdered by Minneapolis Police officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze on Nov. 15, 2015.

After community fellowship, speeches began. Loretta VanPelt spoke for the TCC4J honoring Jamar Clark and about continuing the fight for justice through community control of the police. Irma Burns, Jamar’s birth mother, and hia sisters spoke on the fight for Jamar and thanked TCC4J for its continued work. After speeches, there was a memorial balloon release.

Video of speeches Memorial balloon release

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #JamarClark #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJustice4JamarClark #TCC4J

St. Paul, MN – At noon, July 15, The Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar and Asian Pacific Islanders for Black Lives protested at the office of Ramsey County Attorney John Choi here. He is the county attorney who will make the charging decision in the homicide of Philando Castile.

A coalition statement said, “For 22 consecutive Fridays, the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar has protested at the Hennepin County Government Center, where Mike Freeman has his office. The Coalition continues to demand prosecution of the police that killed Jamar Clark last November. This week, the protest will move to Saint Paul, to call for justice for Philando Castile.”

“While the fight for justice for Jamar continues, the recent killing of another African American man in our community calls us to bring our voices to the doorstep of Ramsey County prosecutor John Choi. We don't want his murder covered up with a secret grand jury process, and we won't sit by and let Choi try to justify the actions of Jeronimo Yanez, who fired four times into a car with a young child and two adults, killing Philando,” the statement continued.

Choi refused to come out to meet with the 40 angry people crowded into his office. Protestors confronted his staff with their demands. Speakers included Coalition organizers Michaela Day and Loretta VanPelt, MK Nguyen of API4BlackLives and Darleen Hynes, whose fiancée, Phil Quinn, was murdered by Saint Paul police in September 2015. Choi took that case to a grand jury, which failed to indict the killer cop. The protesters promised to return.

#SaintPaulMN #PoliceBrutality #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJustice4JamarClark #PhilandoCastile #AsianPacificIslandersForBlackLives

He and Minneapolis FBI director Richard Thornton claimed that hundreds of hours of investigation failed to produce evidence that the killing of the unarmed African American 24-yea- old man was unlawful. This press conference, much like that of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman’s at the end of March, was dedicated to all the ways a defense attorney could work to exonerate the police who killed Clark 61 seconds after arriving on the scene.

First, they “concluded Clark was not handcuffed when shot.” According to Luger, witness accounts differed on whether Clark was handcuffed in front or behind his back, while police said he was not handcuffed. Investigators then turned to forensic evidence, which he said was “not conclusive.” There was “insufficient DNA for identification” on the handcuffs, and the medical examiner had not found bruising on Clark’s wrists, which “might have corroborated witness accounts.” Luger’s presentation suggests that the police killing of unarmed individuals is legal, so long as there are no handcuffs on.

As an explanation of this, he reported that both officers involved claimed that they “feared for their lives,” and that investigators uncovered no evidence to “disprove these statements.” To bolster this claim, Luger says, “On video, Ringgenberg appears to be struggling to get away from Clark, reaching for his [own] belt.” Referring to the video released by Freeman’s office in March, Luger fails to address that seconds earlier, Ringgenberg had grabbed Clark around the neck from behind and slammed him to the ground, in a take-down maneuver that is not sanctioned by the Minneapolis Police Department.

Finally, despite reports that Jamar Clark’s fingerprints were never found on Ringgenberg’s gun, Luger once again parrots the tired line of Mike Freeman: Clark’s DNA was found on the gun. He acknowledges this is inconclusive, and they cannot determine how his DNA got onto the gun. The video offers evidence of the simplest answer: The gun likely brushed against Clark when he was taken down violently and pinned to the ground, seconds before Ringgenberg told his partner to shoot.

Mayor Betsy Hodges and MPD Chief Janee Harteau both made public statements endorsing the findings. Lieutenant Bob Kroll, president of the police federation, criticized both for supporting the investigations that “victimized” the killer cops. He went further, characterizing Black Lives Matter as a “terrorist organization,” for its part in leading some of the protests demanding justice for Jamar. Kroll is well-known as an open racist with a long record of brutality both on the job and off duty.

Family and community were shaken, but not surprised, by Thursday’s announcement. They are responding with action.

On Friday, June 3, the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar Clark (TCC4J) will hold its 17th consecutive Friday action in the Hennepin County Government Center. Jamar’s father, James Clark and others will speak, continuing to demand Justice for Jamar Clark via prosecution of the Minneapolis Police Department by any means necessary. Clark has described the Justice Department investigation as a “cover-up” that dismisses countless witnesses and video that show Jamar was not resisting police when he was thrown to the ground and then shot in the head. He says Freeman and the FBI should be prosecuted themselves, as accessories-after-the-fact, in the murder of his son.

On Saturday, June 4, TCC4J will stand with Justice4MarcusGolden at “Blue Lies Matter: Marcus Golden's 26th B-Day Solidarity Rally.” The rally will celebrate the life of Marcus Golden, who was killed by Saint Paul police in January 2015. When lives are stolen by police violence, the victims are framed as responsible for their own deaths, and the killers go free. Organizers say it is time speak truth over the “blue lies.” The action will remember Marcus and Jamar, as well as others killed by area police: Terrance Franklin, Phil Quinn, Fong Lee, Michael Kirvelay, Victor Gaddy, Guillermo Canas, Quincy Smith and Map Kong.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #JamarClark #PoliceChiefHarteau #BetsyHodges #BobKroll #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJustice4JamarClark