Activists held a press conference Tuesday morning ahead of the first trial for the I-94 protesters.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - Three people arrested last summer while protesting the shooting death of Philando Castile on Interstate 94 pleaded guilty to several misdemeanor charges Tuesday.
Adam Burch, Elise Sommers and Zachary Kolodziej pleaded guilty to misdemeanor public nuisance and unlawful assembly.
Three days after Castile was shot and killed by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez, hundreds of protesters marched onto I-94 in St. Paul, shutting down the freeway for several hours. The protests eventually turned violent with demonstrators throwing bottles, fireworks and even a Molotov cocktail at police.
Forty-seven people were arrested. Many were initially charged with rioting, but that charge was later dismissed by a judge who said there was not enough evidence proving the defendants threw items at police.
After plea deals, about 20 protesters still face trial for public nuisance and unlawful assembly.
After Officer Yanez was found not guilty in June, protesters once again marched onto I-94 in St. Paul. A total of 18 protesters were arrested that night, but charges against them were later dropped.
Last week, riot charges against Castile's cousin, Louis Hunter, were dropped. Hunter admitted he was involved in last year's protests, but prosecutors say video shows while Hunter was agitated and yelling at officers he did not throw anything at them.