Chicago protesters shut down key roads, as police circled. (Credit: Twitter)
Hundreds of outraged Chicago residents took to city streets to protest the killing of black teen Laquan McDonald by white officer Jason Van Dyke – who’s since been charged with first–degree murder – and vowed via bullhorn and chant to shut down the historic Michigan Avenue shopping district on Black Friday.
Video released of the police officer’s 16-bullet shooting has pitted the community against cops, leading many to predict chaos will soon result, as it did in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, and ultimately leading President Obama to weigh in.
He said he was “deeply disturbed” by the video, but thanked Chicagoans for their peaceful demonstrations.
“Like many Americans, I was deeply disturbed by the footage of the fatal shooting of 17–year–old Laquan McDonald,” Obama wrote on his Facebook page. “This Thanksgiving, I ask everybody to keep those who’ve suffered tragic loss in our thoughts and prayers and to be thankful for the overwhelming majority of men and women in uniform who protect our communities with honor. And I’m personally grateful to the people of my hometown for keeping protests peaceful.”
The Washington Post reported some skirmishes between police and protesters, however. The newspaper described the scene this way: “While the demonstrations, which at times blocked some of Chicago’s busy interstate highways, were largely peaceful, some turned confrontation … Skirmishes broke out between protesters and police, who surrounded officers after they apparently made arrests. Protesters also tried to stop a police SUV from leaving with arrestees, an effort that failed. … Some protesters showed up in gas masks, and some pushed against a police line, but no smoke or tear gas came.”
The Washington Post also reported hundreds of protesters blocked Interstate 290 for several minutes, while police spoke into a megaphone: “You are obstructing the roadway. If you continue to be up here, you will be subject to arrest.”
NBC News video captured protesters shouting “We ain’t gonna stop, ’til people are free,” and “Shut it down!”
Agence France–Presse reported demonstrators began gathering Wednesday to solicit participation in a shut–down of Michigan Avenue, the city’s famous shopping area, on Black Friday.
Activist Mark Carter shouted for the group to “rise up” and close the Magnificent Mile, as the shopping area is known, and also said protesters were planning to target the Board of Trade and other city hot spots in the coming days, AFP reported.
“You cannot kill our children and expect us to be quiet any longer,” another protester told AFP. “It is unacceptable.”
The Urban League of Chicago, meanwhile, called for the Department of Justice to investigate the Chicago Police Department for alleged coverups and”discriminatory harassment” against blacks.
from PropagandaGuard https://propagandaguard.wordpress.com/2015/11/26/chicago-protesters-target-malls-shut-it-down/
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