Congresswoman Maxine Waters made a sudden appearance in Brooklyn Center, the hotspot of week-long protests over the killing of 20yo Daunte Wright, all but encouraging the crowd to defy an emergency curfew imposed by the city.
Hundreds of protesters rallied outside Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police station for the seventh day in a row on Saturday, when US Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) showed up around 10:30pm to address the crowd with a brief and emotional speech.
With less than 30 minutes before yet another emergency curfew was due to go into effect, journalists at the scene asked Maxine about the restrictions.
Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters says she doesn't recognize the curfew and encourages people to break it and says she hopes the protests will continue. pic.twitter.com/nVpzX2yH6K
“I don't think anything about curfew, I don't know what curfew means,” she said. “Curfew means that: ‘I want you all to stop talking, I want you to stop meeting, I want you to stop gathering.’ I don't agree with that.”
Maxine Waters is marching in Brooklyn Center tonight and told people to take to the streets if Chauvin is acquitted pic.twitter.com/RemfvCCLAn
In addition to the Daunte Wright protests, law enforcement in Minnesota is bracing for a verdict in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer accused of killing George Floyd last year in nearby Minneapolis. Maxine also shared her view on what protesters should do, if Chauvin is acquitted next week.
We've got to stay on the streets. And we've got to get more active. We've got to get more confrontational. We've got to make sure that they know that we mean business.
However, when asked if personally was going to stay in the streets, as the curfew was looming, Waters said: “I'm not gonna stay out here.”
“I came here from Washington just to be here, to make sure that I let my voice be heard among all of those who have been spending so much on the streets..,” Waters added. “So I'm hopeful that the protest will continue.”
As the curfew went into effect at 11pm, “fewer than 150 protesters remain on site,” Minnesota’s public safety information center, dubbed Operation Safety Net, said, thanking everyone who have left ahead of the curfew and wishing them a “pleasant evening.”
On Friday night alone, some 100 people were arrested for not following a dispersal order.
IMPORTANT: CURFEW IS IN EFFECT.
➡️ Brooklyn Center: 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
➡️ Champlin: 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
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