

A group of protesters from Black Lives Matter slowed down the parade by holding their own gathering with banners for Philando Castile soon after it got underway. About 200 protesters began marching down Hennepin Avenue and at one point, staged a die-in.
Parade organizers on Friday invited police to participate in the annual parade after initially asking police to minimize their participation due to tensions over a jury’s recent acquittal of the Minnesota officer who fatally shot Castile during a traffic stop last year. But Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau, who is the city’s first openly gay police chief, called that decision “divisive.”
Protesters chanted “No justice, no peace, no pride in police” and carried signs reading “Justice for Philando” and “Black Lives Matter.”