Next court hearing set for May 1
Inside a packed courtroom at the Hennepin County Division IV (Southdale) Courthouse in Edina there was marked silence, but outside the atmosphere was anything but as supporters for the dubbed “MOA 11” showed their support for the group.
The 11 defendants pled not guilty to misdemeanor charges of trespassing, disorderly conduct, and aiding and abetting trespass. The charges stem from a Dec. 20 demonstration at the Mall of America as a part of the Black Lives Matter movement sparked by several killings of unarmed African-Americans by police throughout the nation, including the killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., Eric Garner in Staten Island, Tamir Rice and John Crawford, III; both of Ohio and other killings throughout the land. During the Dec. 20 demonstration, up to 3,000 protesters descended on the nation’s largest shopping mall in a vocal, but peaceful protest. In addition to the MOA 11, 25 other protesters were arrested in connection with the event. The 11 defendants in court on March 10 are accused of being the “ringleaders” of the mass protest that occurred on the Saturday before Christmas. During the demonstration MOA officials chose to shut down for a period of time and many stores shuttered their doors, while at the other end of the spectrum, many workers at the mall showed solidarity with the protesters.
And while inside the courtroom, the defendants and supporters remained silent – many taping their mouths shut with Mall of America stickers – outside it was quite a different story. More than 300 people gathered, sang and chanted and called for a boycott of the mall unless charges are dropped against those accused.
“We won’t back down from Sandra’s overreach of power and we’ll continue to bring the message,” said Michael McDowell, one of the defendants referring to Bloomington prosecutor Sandra Johnson, who chose to bring charges against the 11. “We will continue to show that Black lives matter.”
Another defendant, Mica Grimm, was just as defiant in the face of prosecution.
“This is family, this is community … this is what it looks like when people come out and support each other,” said Grimm, speaking on the steps of the courthouse to the hundreds of gathered supporters. “This is what it looks like when people are fed up with the status quo. This is what it looks like when we decide we want a brighter future for our babies. Do we want our children to be facing the same discrimination and the same sadness and the same pain that we feel in this generation? Do we want to pass that down to our babies? That’s why we’re here, right? That is why we do this. We ain’t gonna take this no more.”
Grimm’s words were met with thunderous applauses from the noticeably racially, and age mixed supporters.
One supporter, Greg Hagen, said as a military veteran he was continuing his service to country by supporting the MOA 11 and the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I’m out here because of what’s happening around this country (with the killings of African-Americans by police),” said Hagen, who is white and who held a sign that read Black Lives Matter. “I’m also here as a Veteran for Peace. When I went into the military I took an oath to defend America against threats to the Constitution. What I’m seeing across this country is a threat to the Constitution.”
Nekima Levy-Pounds, one of the 11 defendants, was visibly moved by the outpouring of support.
“It’s awe striking to see so many people stand here with us all and with the 25 people who were arrested,” said Levy-Pounds who is also a professor of law at St. Thomas University. “We know we’re on the right side of history. The same thing happened in the 1960s with laws being stretched to limit the voices of our community.”
Levy-Pounds said even the dean of the St. Thomas law school took to Twitter to support her and the other defendants.
The 11 will be back in court on May 1 to face the charges levied against them. In the interim, supporters are calling for a full boycott of the Mall of America and asking mall officials to have the Bloomington prosecutor drop all charges in the matter.
