Charges Filed in Shooting of Black Lives Matter Activists, Group Says They Don’t Fit Crime

By Kenrya Rankin Nov 30, 2015

Four suspects have been officially charged in the November 23 shooting outside Minneapolis Police Department’s (MPD) fourth precinct building that left five activists wounded. 

Protestors affiliated with Black Lives Matter—Minneapolis and other groups were rallying to demand that MPD release video footage of the killing of Jamar Clark, an unarmed Black 24-year-old man who was fatally shot by a White officer on November 15, 2015.

StarTribune reports that Allen Lawrence Scarsella was charged with five counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of second-degree rioting while armed. Nathan Wayne Gustavsson, Joseph Martin Backman and Daniel Thomas Macey have also been charged with rioting. They were arrested last week.

The men have been described as "White supremacists" by protestors who were on the scene. They are scheduled to appear in court tomorrow (December 1).

BLM—Minneapolis issued a statement saying that the charges do not go far enough. It reads in part: 

Today County Attorney Mike Freeman announced riot and assault charges against the 4 armed white supremacists who shot 5 protesters at the ‪#‎4thPrecinctShutDown‬, but declined to charge them with attempted murder, hate crimes, or domestic terrorism. Join the community in saying: ‪#‎WeChargeTerrorism‬ to send a message that attacks by armed terrorists against our movement will not be tolerated, and continued terrorism from the Minneapolis Police Department must end.

Read the statement in its entirety below:

Today County Attorney Mike Freeman announced riot and assault charges against the 4 armed white supremacists who shot 5…

Posted by Black Lives Matter Minneapolis on Monday, November 30, 2015