Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis on Sunday as tension builds on the eve of ex-cop Derek Chauvin’s trial in George Floyd’s death.
The protesters showed a white box draped with flowers and called for racial justice and an end to police brutality a day before jury selection was due to begin in the volatile case.
“We must remember that a man has lost his life, a family has lost a brother, a family has lost a father, lost a son, an uncle,” Mohamed Ibrahim, deputy director of CAIR-MN, told the Star Tribune.
The march remained peaceful and included the music of Bob Marley, Prince and Sam Cooke. It followed a clergy prayer with Pray for MN, an interfaith group formed after Floyd’s death on May 25, which now has 150 member churches.
“Maybe we should take time to think about how often it happens,” protester Ilyas Wehelie told the stands.
Protesters then gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center, the site of the upcoming trial that will begin jury selection Monday morning, WCCO said in a report.
Chauvin, 44, is charged with second degree manslaughter and second degree manslaughter. Viral video of the incident shows the ex-cop with his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as he begs for air.
The incident sparked worldwide protests condemning police brutality.
Minneapolis officials have bolstered security for the trial by bringing in forces from the National Guard and state, county, and city police, and bolstering the courthouse and police station with barricades, security fences, and barbed wire.