Police in riot gear used tear gas, smoke bombs and pepper spray to disperse hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters from Interstate 94 in Saint Paul, Minnesota on Saturday night.
102 protesters were taken into custody while 21 police officers were injured as demonstrations continued over recent fatal shootings of black men by police.
RT reports:
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On Saturday night, hundreds of people protesting the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, shot dead by police officers earlier in the week, gathered at St. Paul Governor’s residence and marched to Interstate 94, shutting it down for at least five hours.
Police said on Twitter that people on the Interstate were “throwing rocks, bottles, fireworks and bricks.” At least two policemen were hit in the head with chunks of concrete. St. Paul police also said protesters threw Molotov cocktails. Officers had to use inert smoke several times in order to get the demonstrators leave the freeway.
Interstate 94 has now reopened for vehicle traffic. At least 50 people protesting there were taken to custody and charged with third degree riot.
Last night and this morning, 21 officers from multiple agencies were injured on I-94 and other areas of the city. #I94closed
— St. Paul Police PIO (@sppdPIO) July 10, 2016
BREAKING: Protestors on I-94 now throwing fireworks at police. pic.twitter.com/RffGiOCKtn
— Timothy Blotz (@TimBlotzFOX9) July 10, 2016
Bricks now being thrown at officers, along with more rocks and bottles. #I94closed
— St. Paul Police PIO (@sppdPIO) July 10, 2016
Law enforcement made 52 more arrests in a second riot on the city’s Grand Avenue, “for public nuisance and unlawful assembly.” Those people, however, were booked and then released.
Protests in St. Paul follow nationwide rallies that have engulfed the States, with 100 more arrests made nationwide on Friday.
The largest number of arrests was made that night in Rochester, New York, where protesters blocked downtown streets.
Activists are demanding that the officers, who killed the two black men last week, face murder charges. Law enforcement across the nation had to increase their vigilance following the deadly shooting of five policemen in Thursday night’s ambush at a similar Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas.
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