646 people cited, released in protest that blocked Interstate 94 in Minneapolis
Minnesota State Patrol and the Minneapolis Police Department cited and released more than 600 protesters who blocked Interstate 94 in Minneapolis Wednesday night.
Arrests began on the freeway around 9 p.m. apparently without any dispersal warnings, as protesters held a dance party on the freeway.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) said 646 people were cited and released for being a pedestrian on a freeway and public nuisance. Six vehicles were also towed.
"No force or chemicals were used, and no protesters or law enforcement officers were injured during the incident," DPS says.
Jeremiah Ellison, a Minneapolis City Council member, tweeted about the protests, saying a bus full of arrested protesters were cited and released far away.
The protest began on city streets and continued onto I-94 near Riverside, officials said. The freeway was closed between Interstate 35W and Highway 280 and reopened at 1:23 a.m., DPS says.
Wednesday night's march, which began in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, had been organized irrespective of the election results, with the protest aimed at drawing attention to police brutality and systemic racism.
Another gathering of demonstrators met in Government Plaza as part of a "Defend the Vote" protest, amid efforts by President Donald Trump to stop election counts in crucial swing states.
Other election-related protests were held across the country Wednesday night, with the Associated Press saying dozens of angry Trump supporters converged on vote-counting centers in Phoenix and Detroit, where ballots are still being counted but results are starting to favor Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, the AP says thousands of people who are anti-Trump took to the streets to demand a complete count of the ballots, as is required by law.
