In Minnesota, hundreds of Black Lives Matter activists shut down sections of the Minneapolis airport, the light rail and parts of the Mall of America Wednesday in a protest of police killings of African Americans and of rising Islamophobia. Actions against police brutality also took place in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Chattanooga, Tennessee. In Minneapolis, protesters say they used the planned Mall of America protest as a diversion in order to actually disrupt travel at the Minneapolis airport on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Several people were arrested. Speaking on Democracy Now! just before Wednesday’s action, organizer Kandace Montgomery recounted the death of unarmed 24-year-old Jamar Clark by North Minneapolis police.

Kandace Montgomery: “On the night in which Jamar Clark, many of which are saying was executed by the Minneapolis Police Department, witnesses are overwhelmingly accounting that he was handcuffed while shot in the head. Following that immediately, community called for action. They held a march, and then Black Lives Matter began the occupation of the 4th Precinct in North Minneapolis, Minnesota. And that was held for 18 days, until shut down by the Minneapolis Police Department and our mayor, Betsy Hodges. And, you know, around that, we are really continuing to demand the release of the tapes into the incident, to ensure justice for him, as well as long-term structural change for black folks in the community.”

That was Kandace Montgomery speaking just before Wednesday’s action. Earlier this week, the Mall of America lost a legal attempt to block the Black Lives Matter protest and force organizers to post on social media that it was canceled.