Protesters blocked the car of Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins, refusing to let her go before she agreed to a list of demands.
Jenkins was at an event this weekend in Loring Park where protestors blocked her in. A 23-minute video showing a portion of their interaction on Sunday was posted to social media by activist D.J. Hooker.
The group was demanding several things of Jenkins. They did not allow her to leave until she agreed to “leave George Floyd Square alone,” support creating a civilian-led commission to oversee police, and call for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s resignation, among other things.
In an interview, Hooker shared that he approached Jenkins after a “Taking Back Pride” event decrying police brutality. Jenkins was the first transgender woman of color to be elected to public office in a major U.S. city, and the event sought to prioritize the voices of people who are Black, transgender, or queer, according to the StarTribune.
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When Hooker approached Jenkins, it was to raise concerns about community groups contracted with the city to de-escalate tensions. Jenkins told Hooker that she did not have control over George Floyd Square reopening, so she could not commit to it, to which he grew frustrated. Hooker went on to tell Jenkins that they would hold peaceful protests outside her house and when they began to argue, someone jumped in between them.
When Jenkins began walking away, Hooker said he yelled, “Oh, you’re gonna call the cops on me knowing … what the cops have done to George Floyd, what the cops have done to Dolal Idd and Winston Smith and Daunte Wright.”
In the video on social media Hooker and others stood on all three sides of the white car that Jenkins was a passenger in. Jenkins, at first, was on her phone but then sat quietly, hands together as hooker expressed his frustration over the lack of action city officials have taken to combat police brutality.
Hooker then began to read off a list of demands asking if she would pledge her support for creating an elected civilian commission to oversee police, reopening cases in police killings, dropping charges against protesters, and releasing information about Smith's death. Jenkins replied yes every time he asked.
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Jenkins was then asked by hooker to pledge support “for Jacob Frey’s immediate resignation.” She laughed and shook her head from side to side. Protests continued to prompt her until she eventually said, “Jacob Frey resign.”
The subsequent demand from Hooker was to "leave George Floyd Square alone. Period."
Jenkins did not pledge support to this as quickly as the others, saying, "Don't do my job, is that what you're asking me to do?"
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Jenkins and Hooker started speaking at the same time before she said, "I was elected to represent that neighborhood, so what you're asking me to do is to not do my job."
Jenkins rolled up her window, saying she would not sign anything, to which the crowd grew louder, continuing to yell. A couple of minutes later, Jenkins rolled down her window, saying, "Fine, I'll leave George Floyd Square alone. I will not do my job."
Whoever was driving Jenkins’ car said that this is not a negotiation as they were being blocked in. The crowd responded, saying they were “demanding,” not asking. The group then told the driver to “do your job and drive,” which was met with a middle finger from the driver before Jenkins pushed down their arm.
Jenkins inevitably signed the demands as protestors asked her to print her name and date it. She then reminded the group why she ran for her position.
"I ran to represent people. That's what I did," Jenkins says to the crowd. "You stand up and do that one day."
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After a little while, the car drove away when people moved out of the way.
The interaction lasted roughly two hours, according to Hooker, who said they confronted Jenkins because they were tired of elected officials not following through on their promises on policing.
"They come to our events. They want a photoshoot. They tell us they support us, they care about us, and then they go through no action about it," Hooker said. He said he would be surprised if Jenkins followed through on the document she signed.