The Latest: More than 10 stores close ahead of mall protest

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The latest developments on a planned Black Lives Matter protest at the Mall of America (all times local):

1 p.m.

Several stores in Mall of America are closing ahead of an expected protest organized by Black Lives Matter.

More than a dozen stores had shut their gates by early Wednesday afternoon.


Among them were a Starbucks and a Barnes and Noble bookstore. Both stores are near the mall's rotunda, a central gathering point at the massive retail center in suburban Minneapolis.

Managers at both shops directed inquiries to corporate communication offices.

12:30 p.m.

Special staff members are stationed at every Mall of America entrance ahead of a protest expected to draw hundreds of people to the massive mall in suburban Minneapolis.

Black Lives Matter organizers say the Wednesday rally is meant to pressure authorities to release footage of a black man who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police last month.

Specialized event staff members were searching guests' bags at every entrance of the nation's largest mall an hour ahead of the expected protest. Mall security guards have also cordoned off parts of a central mall rotunda.

Mall officials and Bloomington police have declined to explain their security plans. A judge banned three demonstration organizers from going to the mall, but said she couldn't bar other unnamed protesters from attending.

10:25 a.m.

Gov. Mark Dayton says 30 Minnesota State Patrol officers will help handle an expected protest at the Mall of America.

Local Black Lives Matter organizers planned the Wednesday demonstration to pressure authorities to release video footage of a 24-year-old man who was fatally shot by Minneapolis police. Mall officials tried to block the protest, arguing the mall was on private property, but a judge only barred three organizers from attending.

Neither the mall nor Bloomington police have said how they will respond to the demonstration. But Dayton said Wednesday that 30 state patrol officers will be on scene to support local police.

Dayton says he's sympathetic to protesters' concerns, but says the mall is private property.

Black Lives Matter organizer Kandace Montgomery says she expects hundreds of people at the afternoon protest.

1:45 a.m.

Activists are planning a Black Lives Matter demonstration that they say could bring hundreds of protesters to the Mall of America on the day before Christmas Eve.

The protest Wednesday is aimed at drawing attention to the police shooting last month of a black Minneapolis man, Jamar Clark. The 24-year-old died the day after he was shot in north Minneapolis by police responding to an assault complaint.

The mall sought a court order blocking the planned protest. A judge barred three organizers from attending the demonstration but said she doesn't have the power to prevent others from showing up to demonstrate.

A similar demonstration drew hundreds of protesters to the mall last December and forced some stores to close.

Bloomington police have not said what security measures the mall may put in place to curtail the protest.


Source: seattlepi.com