Authorities responded to several reports of alleged incidents taking place near a pro-Palestinian protest that took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, over the weekend.
Several thousand people gathered for the pro-Palestinian protest, staging a “die-in” in the middle of the road. One of the protest’s organizers, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, advertised for the event and retweeted images across social media, showing dozens of individuals laying across the pavement, some with fake blood splattered across them. One individual held a sign reading, “From The River To The Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.”
🇵🇸STAND WITH PALESTINE🇵🇸
— MN Anti-War Committee (@AntiwarMN) October 19, 2023
⏰Sunday, October 22 at 2 p.m.
📍Loring Park, Minneapolis
Our message will be seen by people on Hennepin, Lyndale, I-94 and I-394!
Meet at the southwest corner of the park, across from the Walker Art Center. pic.twitter.com/FUokkCXzDl
A Die-In here in Minneapolis at the Lyndale intersection in Loring Park.
Free Free Palestine! 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/wGV7dxz3OE— Read Dr.Gerald Horne (@anthony_xvx) October 22, 2023
Organizers, which included the University of Minnesota’s Students for Justice in Palestine and state chapter of the American Muslims for Palestine, said the protesters were demanding to stop “Israel’s bombing of Gaza.”
Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) spokesperson Aaron Rose confirmed to Newsweek that MPD responded to reports of several disturbances in relation to the protest, including a driver making way through the crowd. However, no injures had been reported at the time of MPD’s statement to Newsweek.
“Various witnesses reported a vehicle driving through the crowd, and one caller reported the sound of a gunshot,” Rose said. “At this time, there have been no reports of injuries related to the demonstration, and no victims have come forward.”
A video circulating across social media shows the alleged incident involving a driver, showing a white car moving slowly and some protesters appearing to hit it the vehicle. The driver then opens the door and appears to says something before continuing to get back in. The crowd then swarms the vehicle as the driver stops before moving slowly again. After a few moments of remaining idle, the driver backs up and accelerates, leaving the crowd behind.
WATCH:
Minneapolis - Around 1:45 pm as pro-Palestine demonstrators held a 'die-in' at Lyndale/Hennepin, an alleged counter-protester drove into the crowd, possibly firing a a gun or firecracker while driving away.
— UNICORN RIOT (@UR_Ninja) October 22, 2023
Our drone footage paired w/ audio from on the ground shows the incident: pic.twitter.com/I3C4ll6UtH
Correction: the car incident in the first tweet took place around 3:45pm central time, we regret the error
— UNICORN RIOT (@UR_Ninja) October 23, 2023
According to Newsweek, the MPD is following up on the incident but no arrests had been made as of Sunday.
“Rose said he was unable to confirm at the time of publication whether the road where the incident occurred was closed during the protest,” the outlet reported.
The activist display and reports of subsequent disturbances come weeks after the Palestinian Hamas terror group unleashed carnage October 7, murdering roughly 1,400 Israelis and taking many hostages, sparking international outrage.
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