Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis on Sunday, as tension increased on the eve of the ex-policeman Derek Chauvin’s trial for the death of George Floyd.
Protesters displayed a white flower-covered coffin and called for racial justice and an end to police brutality, the day before the jury selection began in the volatile case.
“We have to remember that a man lost his life, a family lost a brother, a family lost a father, lost a son, lost an uncle,” said Mohamed Ibrahim, deputy director of CAIR-MN, to the Star Tribune.
The march remained peaceful and included the music of Bob Marley, Prince and Sam Cooke. There followed a prayer by members of the clergy with Pray for MN, an interfaith group formed after Floyd’s death on May 25 that now has 150 member churches.
“Perhaps we should reflect on how often this happens,” protester Ilyas Wehelie told the Tribune.
Protesters then gathered in front of the Hennepin County Government Center, the site of the next trial that is expected to begin with jury selection on Monday morning, WCCO said in a report.
Chauvin, 44, is charged with second-degree murder and wrongful death in Floyd’s death. The viral video of the incident shows the ex-policeman with his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while begging for air.
The incident sparked protests around the world condemning police brutality.
Minneapolis officials stepped up security for the trial, bringing in National Guard troops and state, municipal and municipal police, and reinforcing the court and police stations with barricades, security fences and barbed wire.