A day before George Floyd’s trial, demonstrators meet in Minneapolis

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Hundreds of rallyists gathered in the streets of Minneapolis a day before ex-police officer Derek Chauvin is set to face court trial for killing George Floyd.
• The protest was peaceful as participants held songs and prayers.
• Floyd’s death sparked global protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

On the eve of Derek Chauvin’s trial following George Floyd’s death last May 25, hundreds of demonstrators flocked to the Minneapolis streets on Sunday.

As they called for an end to police brutality and social injustice, rally participants displayed a white coffin covered with flowers.

Speaking with the Star Tribune, CAIR-MN deputy director Mohamed Ibrahim said: “We have to remember that a man lost his life, a family lost a brother, a family lost a father, they lost a son, they lost an uncle.”

Accompanied by the music of Bob Marley, Prince, and Sam Cooke, the gathering was entirely peaceful and also had a prayer led by an interfaith group called Pray for MN, which was formed after Floyd’s death and has 150 church members.

“Maybe we should take time to reflect on how frequently it happens,” Protester Ilyas Wehelie told the Tribune.

WCCO reported that demonstrators also flocked to the Hennepin County Government Center, where the trial will be held on Monday morning.

Chauvin, the 44-year-old former police officer, was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in connection to Floyd’s brutal death. Videos that went viral online showed that he kneeled on the victim’s neck for almost nine minutes as Floyd was saying he couldn’t breathe.

Floyd’s death fueled global protests against police brutality and racial injustice. Various states and cities in the US were met with unrest and movements. Particularly the Black Lives Matter (BLM) has risen in such occasions as police brutality cases against black people also climbed in recent years.

Forces from the National Guard were deployed as local authorities beefed up the security in anticipation of the trial. Law enforcement authorities have placed barricades, security fencing and barbed wires within the vicinity to prevent possible public uproar.

Source: New York Post