MINNEAPOLIS_The Minnesota State Patrol arrested 18 people in St. Paul early Saturday after protesters shut down Interstate 94, furious at the not-guilty verdict for a St. Anthony police officer in Philando Castile's death.
Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted on all counts Friday in the death of Castile last year, the aftermath of which was shown in a video on Facebook by Castile's girlfriend.
After the verdict Friday afternoon, Yanez was fired by the city of St. Anthony.
Large protest demonstrations began around 7 p.m. Friday. At least 2,000 people filled the steps leading to the State Capitol in St. Paul to listen to activists and friends of Castile express their anger at the verdict.
Protesters then took to the streets, bringing light-rail traffic to a halt.
The march then continued on neighborhood streets once the sun set.
Organizers urged protesters to stay off of nearby Interstate 94, but about 10:30 p.m., about 500 people raced onto it and blocked lanes in both directions. Many cars that were stopped by the protest turned around and went the wrong way on the freeway in both directions, seeking the nearest exits.
Passions and tension ran high, but as the night wore on and law enforcement officers slowly herded them off the freeway, many people left.
By 12:30 a.m., state troopers, St. Paul police officers, and group of heavily camouflaged and armed troopers, part of a State Patrol unit, had pushed the few dozen remaining protesters onto an exit ramp. A group of protesters was surrounded by police and unable to leave the freeway.
Those arrested were taken to Metro Transit buses for transport to jail.
Smaller groups returned to the State Capitol early Saturday morning. Another had also gathered outside the St. Paul home of Gov. Mark Dayton, according to St. Paul Police Department spokesman Steve Linders.
Among the arrested were two journalists _ Susan Du from City Pages and David Clarey from the Minnesota Daily, who were charged with unlawful assembly and being a public nuisance. They were released from jail Saturday morning.
