With so much violence, conflict, looting, fire and unrest in the Twin Cities over the past week, the focus on Monday seemed to turn back to peaceful protests and marches. One of the largest took place in St. Paul in front of the Governor's Mansion where News Talk 830 WCCO's Sloane Martin reported from.
For over two hours, with many people sitting cross legged on Summit Avenue or standing along the sidewalk, they listened to speeches that said, "This is the time, this is the breaking point." Many were begging for the killings to end, saying "We don't want to add others to these circumstances." Civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong and other lawyers who attended talked about what the future of the case looks like against officer Derek Chauvin, who held his knee down on Floyd's neck during the arrest, eventually causing death by asphyxiation.
Even after the Governor moved the case from Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman's office to State Attorney General Keith Ellison, there was not a lot of support for Ellison among the protesters. Several protesters told Sloane Marting they were critical of cases Ellison's work on previous police shooting matters. One activist said, "We're not accepting of that. We've seen how he moves. We've seen his behavior. He is not with the people and he was not with us."
The event in St. Paul was organized by Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, people brought together by a tragic connection. WCCO's Sloane Martin described it as a "Very emotional gathering."