70 protesters arrested in front of Minnesota governor's mansion
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - Early Wednesday morning, St. Paul Police Department arrested another 23 people for public nuisance and unlawful assembly near the Governor's Residence as part of an ongoing effort to reopen Summit Avenue.
Throughout the day Tuesday, police arrested at least 46 protesters who refused to leave the area in front of the Governor's Residence. In all, St. Paul police confirmed about 70 protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct, unlawful assembly and public nuisance.
Late Tuesday evening, officers lined up on the street at Oxford and Summit to prevent protesters from returning to the area. Protesters lined up opposite the police in the street. Officers made the 23 arrests at 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Police started making arrests just after 11 a.m. Tuesday, four hours after they started negotiating with the group. At 7 a.m. officers asked protesters to clear the street and keep their demonstration to the sidewalk.
Summit Avenue had been reopened for about a week until protesters moved back into the street over the weekend. They're demanding the St. Anthony police officer who shot Philando Castile be treated just like any other murder suspect and be booked into jail. A core group of protesters has never left the governor's mansion since the July 6 shooting.
Just after 8:30 a.m., officers gave the group a 15-minute warning to move to the sidewalk. By 10 a.m., police and protesters were still negotiating terms of a continued demonstration, with the following demands from the city:
Remove trash
Bring in street sweepers
Photograph and remove graffiti
Reopen Summit Avenue to traffic
No new signs
At 10:30 a.m. a garbage truck and street sweeper came through to clean the area, but some protesters returned to the street immediately after the sweeper passed. By 11 a.m., St. Paul police started making arrests. The exact number of arrests and specific reasons for the arrests are unclear.
Timeline of Philando Castile shooting
JULY 6, 9 PM - Officer-involved shooting in Falcon Heights, Facebook video shows aftermath
TRANSCRIPT - What Diamond Reynolds and Officer Jeronimo Yanez said in Facebook video
JULY 7, 5:30 PM - Thousands gather outside St. Paul school to pay respect to Philando Castile
JULY 7 - Students remember Castile as 'Mr. Phil'
JULY 7, 10 AM - Governor: 'Justice will be served in Minnesota'
IN-DEPTH - Minnesota's permit to carry law and how it applies to Philando Castile
JULY 7, 9:50 PM - Police officers identified in fatal shooting of Philando Castile
JULY 8, 10:30 AM - Prosecutor considering grand jury in Philando Castile shooting
JULY 9 - Cop's lawyer: Broken tail light 'not the only reason' for traffic stop
JULY 9, 8 PM - Protest shuts down Interstate 94 in St. Paul
JULY 12 - St. Anthony police data show disproportionate black arrests
JULY 13 - Proof that Philando Castile had a permit to carry from Hennepin County
JULY 14 - Philando Castile's funeral held at Cathedral of Saint Paul