Klobuchar rally in Minnesota canceled amid protests
Sen. Amy Klobuchar canceled a rally in her home state Sunday night as several dozen protesters chanted “Black Lives Matter,” “Klobuchar has got to go” and “Free Myon” — referencing the case of a black teenager convicted of murder after a flawed police investigation.
According to videos that emerged on social media, the senator’s rally was set in St. Louis Park, Minn., at a local high school. WCCO-CBS Minnesota reported that the protesters made their way into the rally and onstage, where they continued chanting. After a 40-minute delay, the rally was canceled.
A campaign spokesperson told the media: “The campaign offered a meeting with the senator if they [protesters] would leave the stage after being onstage for more than an hour. After the group initially agreed, they backed out of the agreement and we are canceling the event.”
Protesters chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “Free Myon” have now occupied Senator Amy Klobuchar’s rally for well over an hour, taking over the stage and effectively shutting down the campaign event.
The rally in Klobuchar’s home state was slated to begin ten minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/B0iTyExXQ0— Nicole Sganga (@NicoleSganga) March 2, 2020
Klobuchar was shifting gears to focus on Super Tuesday after a distant sixth-place finish in the South Carolina primary and fifth-place finish in the Nevada caucuses. Though she had a strong showing in New Hampshire, she has struggled since and faced questions about her campaign’s viability. The pressure grew on Sunday night when Pete Buttigieg suspended his bid for the Democratic nomination.
Minnesota is one of 14 states voting Tuesday, along with American Samoa.
The senator has particularly had to answer for the conviction of Myon Burrell, who was convicted of a 2002 death of a black girl killed by a stray bullet while doing homework. Burrell was sentenced to life in prison. At the time, Klobuchar served as Hennepin County’s top attorney.
But an Associated Press investigation later revealed no gun, fingerprints or DNA were recovered, and there were questionable police tactics used in the case.
Over the past month, Klobuchar has said that all new information should be reviewed and immediately brought forward.
“Of course what we know now was not the same as what we knew then. And I have always been an advocate for criminal justice reform. That was a tough job,” she said on ABC in February.
