Organizers expect hundreds at Mall of America protest

MINNEAPOLIS — 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 set for yesterday at the nation's largest mall 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 by police responding to an assault complaint.

A similar demonstration last December drew hundreds of demonstrators angry over the absence of charges following the police killings of unarmed black men in New York City and Ferguson, Missouri. Stores in the mall had to close, and dozens of people were arrested.

The privately owned mall said another demonstration would mean lost sales. The massive retail center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington houses an amusement park and more than 500 shops spread across four floors, attracting shoppers from around the globe.

Neither mall officials nor Bloomington police have said what security measures will be in place, though special event staff members were searching bags and stationed at every mall entrance. Mall security guards cordoned off parts of a central mall rotunda, and officers from several cities were patrolling inside.

The mall sought a court order blocking the planned protest. A judge on Tuesday barred three organizers from attending the demonstration, but said she doesn't have the power to block unidentified protesters associated with Black Lives Matter — or the movement as a whole — from showing up.

Bloomington Police Deputy Chief Denis Otterness confirmed officers will be at the mall, but declined to discuss their plans for handling the protest.

"We're just not releasing that at this point," he said. "Our number one priority is the safety of everybody out at the Mall of America today."

Gov. Mark Dayton also told reporters yesterday that 30 Minnesota State Patrol officers will be on scene at the local police department's request. He said he sympathizes with protesters' concerns, but he stressed that the mall is private property.

Kandace Montgomery, one of three organizers barred by the judge's order, said the group isn't deterred by the ban. She declined to say if she or her fellow organizers still planned to go to the mall, but she said she expects at least 700 people to show up — including some who are prepared to be arrested.

On one of the busiest shopping days of the year, Montgomery said the retail mecca is the perfect venue for their demonstration to pressure authorities involved in the investigation of Clark's death to release video footage.

"When you disrupt their flow of capital ... they actually start paying attention," she said. "That's the only way that they'll hear us."