More than 40 people were arrested Tuesday in front of the Governor’s Mansion in St. Paul, Minnesota, protesting the police killing of Philando Castile in nearby Falcon Heights earlier this month. Demonstrators have been camped in front of the mansion for weeks. On Tuesday, officers made arrests after telling protesters they could not have tents, tarps or chairs—anything that could be used for an occupation. Meanwhile, in Rochester, New York, some of the more than 70 people arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest there earlier this month appeared in court Tuesday. Among them was 22-year-old Sapphire Williams, who was arrested at the protest while speaking on camera with a local TV reporter. She and her lawyer said Tuesday she will fight her charges.
Sapphire Williams: “If I know and understand my rights as a U.S. citizen as I learned them to be, it was absolutely unjust and wrong.”
Van White: “You’ve seen the video. It’s really quite disturbing to think that someone could be going about their business, speaking, utilizing their First Amendment right, and then, because of what they said, someone says, 'I don't like that. I’m going to arrest them.’ That’s apparently what happened. Justice delayed is justice denied. She’s entitled to walk into court on August the 3rd and have this case dismissed immediately.”