Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) was forced to cancel a rally in her home state on Sunday in response to a raucous Black Lives Matter protest, which lasted for over an hour and featured protesters taking over the stage after “a deal” between the protesters and the campaign fell apart. Video of the incident has circulated widely online.
The home state protest of Klobuchar was fueled by her past role as a prosecutor in the conviction of an African-American teenager, Myon Burrell, who, activists believe, may have been wrongly convicted. Amid growing attention on the case, protesters converged on Klobuchar’s rally in St. Louis Park, Minnesota on Sunday evening.
“Organizers gathered outside of St. Louis Park High School with signs and megaphones in support that Burrell was wrongfully convicted in 2002. Klobuchar was the Hennepin County attorney at the time,” CBS Minnesota reported Sunday. “The protesters made their way into the rally and onto the stage, which delayed Klobuchar’s rally scheduled to start at 8 p.m. After about a 40-minute delay, the rally was confirmed to be canceled.”
As video posted by CBC News campaign reporter Nicole Sganga shows, the protesters completely took over the event.
“Protesters in Senator Klobuchar’s home state have stormed the stage at her campaign rally, with dozens chanting, ‘Free Myon!’ and ‘Klobuchar has got to go!”” Sganga reported on social media along with footage of the event. “Protesters chanting ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Free Myon’ have now occupied Senator Amy Klobuchar’s rally for well over an hour, taking over the stage and effectively shutting down the campaign event. The rally in Klobuchar’s home state was slated to begin ten minutes ago.”
Sganga also reported that Klobuchar’s campaign attempted to “arrange a deal with protesters” before choosing to cancel the event entirely, which the campaign confirmed in a statement.
Protesters chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “Free Myon” have now occupied Senator Amy Klobuchar’s rally for well over an hour, taking over the stage and effectively shutting down the campaign event.
The rally in Klobuchar’s home state was slated to begin ten minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/B0iTyExXQ0
— Nicole Sganga (@NicoleSganga) March 2, 2020
Attendees are leaving the Klobuchar rally as protests continue.
A Klobuchar campaign official says the campaign is actively attempting to arrange a deal with protesters at her rally in St. Louis Park, MN. pic.twitter.com/06jXLj9eyo
— Nicole Sganga (@NicoleSganga) March 2, 2020
Klobuchar’s campaign has since issued a statement to the press explaining why they decided to shut down the event. “The campaign offered a meeting with the Senator if they (protesters) would leave the stage after being on stage for more than an hour,” said the campaign. “After the group initially agreed, they backed out of the agreement and we are canceling the event.”
As reported by the Associated Press last month, the Burrell case has gained increased attention amid new evidence. After conducting a review of “thousand pages of police records, court transcripts and interrogation tapes,” and having “interviewed dozens of inmates, witnesses, family members, former gang leaders, lawyers and criminal justice experts,” AP suggests that Burrell, now 33, should not have been convicted for the death of an 11-year-old girl, Tyesha Edwards, in 2002.
“An Associated Press investigation into the 17-year-old case uncovered new evidence and myriad inconsistencies, raising questions about whether he was railroaded by police,” AP reports. Burrell, who is still behind bars, continues to maintain his innocence and has rejected all plea deals. Some of the problems with the case detailed in the report include:
The case relied heavily on a teen rival of Burrell’s who gave conflicting accounts when identifying the shooter, who was largely obscured behind a wall 120 feet away.
With no other eyewitnesses, police turned to multiple jailhouse snitches. Some have since recanted, saying they were coached or coerced. Others were given reduced time, raising questions about their credibility. And the lead homicide detective offered “major dollars” for names, even if it was hearsay.
There was no gun, fingerprints, or DNA. Alibis were never seriously pursued. Key evidence has gone missing or was never obtained, including a convenience store surveillance tape that Burrell and others say would have cleared him.
This article has been revised for clarity.