Police raided a protest camp in Minneapolis early Thursday morning, dispersing Black Lives Matter protesters who had maintained the camp there for more than two weeks.
Protesters began to camp outside a northern Minneapolis police station after an officer shot and killed a black man named Jamar Clark on Nov. 15. Activists claim Clark was handcuffed when he was shot, and are demanding to see video of the incident. Officials have denied that Clark was handcuffed.
Tensions between police and protesters outside the police station have run high over the past three weeks. But most of the roughly 50 protesters simply walked away from their encampment after officers announced they were conducting a raid at around 4 a.m. local time.
Police said they arrested eight people on minor charges during the raid. The Twitter account run by Black Lives Matter Minneapolis said all the arrested activists were released just a few hours later.
#4thPrecinctShutDown arrestees are out! pic.twitter.com/kJTpZicCAh— Lightskin Tyreese (@thekingjobe) December 3, 2015
Officers tore down tents and trashed food, blankets and other items from the camp.
Bulldozer & bobcats destroying pounds & pounds of food, clothing and supplies donated to #4thPrecinctShutDown pic.twitter.com/JXXnVc4Mcc— |||| || ||| | |||| | (@micamaryjane) December 3, 2015
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges called the encampment "unsafe for everyone" at a press conference on Nov. 30.
"It distracts from the large work of racial equity that we must do," Hodges said. "At the fourth precinct, fires are burning in the street. They're burning near flammables, fouling the air for everyone around."
Despite the police raid, activists plan to hold a rally at city hall at around 4 p.m. in Minneapolis.
Get to know some of the activists who went out to protest in Minneapolis, below.
These photos are published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that covers the U.S. criminal justice system. Follow The Marshall Project on Facebook or Twitter.
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