Black Lives Matter protesters angry at Sen. Amy Klobuchar for the prosecution of black teen accused of murder from her days as prosecutor forced the cancellation of her rally tonight in St. Louis Park, Minn:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar canceled her St Louis Park rally, two days before Super Tuesday and MN’s primary, after Black Lives Matter Protesters overtook the stage to protest conviction of Myon Burrell. @kare11
— Lou Raguse (@LouRaguse) March 2, 2020
She had used her prosecution of the teen, Myon Burrell, in previous campaigns, but there are new concerns that he was wrong convicted. From the AP:
The AP reviewed more than a thousand pages of police records, court transcripts and interrogation tapes, and interviewed dozens of inmates, witnesses, family members, former gang leaders, lawyers and criminal justice experts.
The case relied heavily on a teen rival of Burrell’s who gave conflicting accounts when identifying the shooter, who was largely obscured behind a wall 120 feet away.
With no other eyewitnesses, police turned to multiple jailhouse snitches. Some have since recanted, saying they were coached or coerced. Others were given reduced time, raising questions about their credibility. And the lead homicide detective offered “major dollars” for names, even if it was hearsay.
There was no gun, fingerprints, or DNA. Alibis were never seriously pursued. Key evidence has gone missing or was never obtained, including a convenience store surveillance tape that Burrell and others say would have cleared him.
Burrell, now 33, has maintained his innocence, rejecting all plea deals.
And there have been calls for Klobuchar to suspend her campaign over her handling of the case:
Protestors at the @amyklobuchar event tonight in Minnesota chanting “Black Lives Matter.”
Local civil rights groups, including the Minneapolis NAACP, had called for Klobuchar to suspend her campaign in January over handling of a murder conviction while she was county prosecutor. pic.twitter.com/3S2EfiSmWU
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) March 2, 2020
Team Klobuchar said she had a deal with the protesters to meet after the rally, her campaign says they broke the agreement:
From @amyklobuchar campaign, obtained by @JasJWright: “The campaign offered a meeting with the Senator if they would leave the stage,” the campaign noting the protesters were onstage for more than an hour. “After initially agreeing, they backed out. We are canceling the event.”
— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) March 2, 2020
That won’t go over well.
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