Quote:
St. Paul, Minn. - Police officers moved in on protesters camped out in front of the governor's residence early Tuesday, removing property that was blocking Summit Avenue.
Dozens of St. Paul police officers approached the encampment around 2 a.m. and told protesters that they can no longer block traffic on Summit Avenue. People who want to continue protesting must do so from the sidewalk. Police gave the protesters a chance to remove their tents and other belongings that were blocking the street, then public works crews collected the remaining items and trucked them away.
Protesters can reclaim those items at a later date.
The operation raised emotions on the scene, with protesters yelling and cursing at officers. One even offered to fight police on the scene.
"They come with the squads and say 'hey, you got to get out of here,' we say 'hold on, can we gather our stuff, take our tents down," one peaceful protester told KARE 11's Ivory Hecker. "So as we go to take our tents down they got to cuttin' em down for us, and they told us to move."
"They just took our stuff," he added. "That's just what it was and it's not fair. It's not right, all we want is answers and justice (for Philando Castile)."
When squads left around 3:30 a.m. some protesters turned their anger on the media, forcing them from the scene and at one point threatening a KARE 11 photojournalist.
Police reopened Summit Avenue for a short period of time but closed it again when protesters refused to stay on the sidewalk. It remained closed through the morning hours.
Early Tuesday morning, police released a statement saying "The Saint Paul Police Department will continue to work to ensure the safety of demonstrators as well as those who use Summit Avenue on a daily basis to get to work and make their way through the neighborhood."
Also the bolded part is clearly BS