Police in Minnesota cleared hundreds of demonstrators who were protesting the Friday's acquittal of a police officer in the fatal shooting of motorist Philando Castile, KTSP reported.
Jeronimo Yanez was found not guilty of fatally shooting Castile during a traffic stop on July 6, 2016. The verdict sent protesters to the streets, beginning at the state capitol and eventually to Interstate 94, where approximately 500 demonstrators blocked traffic in both directions, KTSP reported.
Police asked protesters several times to disperse from the highway, telling them that blocking the interstate constituted an unlawful assembly and threatening arrests. The Minnesota Highway Patrol reported one arrest on I-94, KSTP reported.
Organizers of the protest noted on Facebook that the verdict "shows how the system is rigged against justice for victims of police terror."
After the verdict, Yanez’s attorney, Tom Kelly, said the trial was fair and that “nobody should have an adverse reaction to this.”
The protests were expected, KSTP reported. The aftermath of the shooting caused a national furor when it was live-streamed on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car.
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