4 People Arrested for Shooting Black Lives Matter Protesters

The New York Times reports that:

MINNEAPOLIS — The police on Wednesday released the names of four men arrested in connection with a shooting during a Black Lives Matter protest outside a police station that injured five protesters.

The shooting erupted on Monday, during the ninth day of protests demanding action against two white Minneapolis police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Jamar Clark, 24, an unarmed black man, on Nov. 15. None of the wounded protesters had life-threatening injuries, the authorities said.

On Wednesday, protesters paused for the first time as Mr. Clark’s funeral was held, and hundreds gathered to commemorate him at Shiloh Temple International Ministries, calling for a day of peace.

The authorities identified the suspects in the shooting as Allen Lawrence Scarsella, 23; Nathan Gustavsson, 21; Daniel Macey, 26; and Joseph Backman, 27. All are white and were arrested in the Minneapolis area. The police also detained a 32-year-old Hispanic man, but he was released after questioning.

The four men are being held at the Hennepin County jail and have yet to be charged.

According to Sun This Week,

Scarsella was identified as one of two masked men in a You Tube video in a dome-lit vehicle who say they were driving to the protest at Minneapolis’ Fourth Precinct police headquarters for a “recon” mission.

The driver identifies himself as “SaigaMarine” and Scarsella as “Black Powder Ranger,” and says they are “locked and loaded” as he displays a black pistol.

Today, eyewitness Leslie Redmond appeared on Democracy Now. On the program, she suggested that the police may have been involved in the shooting. The shooting occurred right down the street from the police precinct. According to Ms. Redmond, the protesters heard over 10 shots fired. Despite the fact that shooting occurred right down the street from the police precinct, it took the police and the ambulance an unusually long period of time to arrive at the scene. When the police finally arrived, they maced protesters and witnesses. The police allegedly did not interview the witnesses until an hour later. Ms. Redmond further stated that the police wore similar masks as the white supremacist gunmen.

Check out the video below.



In addition to investigating the killing of Jamar Clark, we must demand that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the Minneapolis Police Department's practices and possible involvement in the shooting.