Fiery chants for justice from marchers at Chauvin trial - Albuquerque Journal

Fiery chants for justice from marchers at Chauvin trial

MINNEAPOLIS — Hundreds of people gathered Monday outside the fortified courthouse for the first day of the trial of a former police officer charged in George Floyd’s death, with chants of “No justice, no peace!” and speakers imploring the jurors to “do the right thing.”

Many in the crowd carried banners, some reading “Justice for George Floyd” and “Convict Killer Cops.”

As the judge and attorneys convened high above in an 18th-floor courtroom — with jury selection almost immediately stalling over the state’s effort to add a third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin — organizer DJ Hooker lamented the concrete barriers, chain-link fencing, barbed wire and razor wire that has gone up around the courthouse, along with National Guard troops and police standing guard behind.

“We ain’t in that cage over there. What do they call it, the First Amendment zone? The Freedom Zone, I call it a cage,” said Hooker, an organizer with Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, which was formed after the 2015 death of Jamar Clark in a confrontation with Minneapolis police. “Look what they did to our beautiful downtown. They turned this into a war zone.”

Later, he ridiculed talk of the Chauvin trial as “the trial of the century,” noting the widely seen citizen video of Floyd’s arrest and saying all the jury needs to do is “do the right thing.”

Then he led the crowd in chants of “The whole world is watching!”

The protesters later marched around downtown. The protest featured several speakers that ranged from activists of various organizing groups to the parents of Black men killed by police.

Sam Martinez, an organizer with Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, said organizers plan similar protests for dates that coincide with significant points in Chauvin’s trial, including opening statements, closing arguments and the verdict.

Martinez said the biggest turnout likely will be on the day of the verdict.

“When the people know that there needs to be justice, they’ll come out,” Martinez said. “We trust in the people, we know they’ll back us up.”

___

Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

___

Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd

Home » News » Nation » Fiery chants for justice from marchers at Chauvin trial

Insert Question Legislature form in Legis only stories




Albuquerque Journal and its reporters are committed to telling the stories of our community.

• Do you have a question you want someone to try to answer for you? Do you have a bright spot you want to share?
   We want to hear from you. Please email yourstory@abqjournal.com

taboola desktop

ABQjournal can get you answers in all pages

 

Questions about the Legislature?
Albuquerque Journal can get you answers
Email addresses are used solely for verification and to speed the verification process for repeat questioners.
1
In Trump case, NY grand jury appears near end ...
AP Feeds
NEW YORK (AP) -- A New ... NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York grand jury investigating Donald Trump over a hush money payment to a porn star appears poised to ...
2
In Trump probe, grand jury hears from final witnesses
AP Feeds
NEW YORK (AP) -- A New ... NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York grand jury investigating Donald Trump appeared to be hearing from final witnesses as law enforcement officials accelerated ...
3
World on 'thin ice' as UN climate report gives ...
ABQnews Seeker
BERLIN (AP) -- Humanity still has ... BERLIN (AP) -- Humanity still has a chance, close to the last, to prevent the worst of climate change's future harms, a top United ...
4
Putin welcomes China's Xi to Kremlin amid Ukraine fighting
AP Feeds
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir ... MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin on Monday, sending a powerful message to Western ...
5
School library book bans are seen as targeting LGBTQ ...
More News
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Teri ... DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Teri Patrick bristles at the idea she wants to ban books about LGBTQ issues in Iowa schools, arguing her ...
6
Source: Lawyer invited to testify before Trump grand jury
AP Feeds
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A lawyer who ... WASHINGTON (AP) -- A lawyer who previously advised Michael Cohen, the key government witness in the hush money payment investigation into Donald Trump, has ...
7
Albuquerque man behind fatal crash still missing year later
ABQnews Seeker
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- It's now ... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- It's now been a year since a man convicted of street racing and causing a crash that killed an Albuquerque ...
8
New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in ...
Health & Safety
BEIJING (AP) -- Genetic material collected ... BEIJING (AP) -- Genetic material collected at a Chinese market near where the first human cases of COVID-19 were identified show raccoon dog DNA ...
9
Scientists create mice with cells from 2 males for ...
More News
For the first time, scientists have ... For the first time, scientists have created baby mice from two males. This raises the distant possibility of using the same technique for people ...