Why The Mall Of America Is Trying To Ban Black Lives Matter Protesters

The biggest mall in the U.S. wants to ban Black Lives Matter protesters: The Mall Of America requested a temporary restraining order on Friday against protesters, who are planning to demonstrate at the massive Minnesota shopping center tomorrow. This protest is pegged to the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark by Minnesota police on November 13. The mall is technically private property and doesn't allow demonstrations.

The demonstration is still slated to go down tomorrow, a.k.a. the day before Christmas Eve, when procrastinating gift-buyers come out in droves. Last year's Black Lives Matter protesters gathered in response to the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and Eric Garner in New York; the shopping center had to be temporarily closed as a result of the protest. Misdemeanor charges were filed, and later dismissed, against 11 protest organizers involved in last year's demonstration.

Yesterday, there was a 2 p.m. hearing at the mall's request at Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota, and a ruling is expected today. "We're not going to be canceling the protest. Us not showing up and us not speaking would be the mall winning," Miski Noor, one of the protest's organizers, told reports after the hearing, according to the Associated Press.

If the mall's request is granted, it's not just the protest itself that will be banned; Black Lives Matter organizers would be required to remove social media posts about the demonstration's logistics, and also to send out notifications regarding the protest's cancelation.

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