Bloomington seeks charges against Mall of America protesters

Star Tribune reports:

Bloomington authorities are seeking charges against organizers of an anti-police-brutality demonstration at the Mall of America that upended one of the busiest — and lucrative — shopping days of the year.

Some protesters may also be on the hook for the city’s overtime costs to beef up security on the day of the protest, authorities said Tuesday.

Bloomington officials are taking a more aggressive stance than authorities did after similar protests popped up around Minneapolis in recent weeks fueled by outrage over recent police killings of unarmed black men. The Saturday protest at the Mall of America came after protest organizers were warned to stay away, and resulted in the immediate arrest of 25 people for trespassing.

Bloomington City Attorney Sandra Johnson said authorities are working to identify and prosecute those who orchestrated the peaceful but unsanctioned demonstration in which between 2,000 and 3,000 people flooded the mall’s rotunda and some shopping corridors for several hours.

We hope the socialists that organized this demonstration are sued.