No Arrests Made in Connection to Protests as Chauvin Trial Enters Week Two of Testimony

(KNSI) – As the second week of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial gets underway, law enforcement leaders say that so far, protests and demonstrations surrounding the trial have been peaceful.

“Over the weekend, we have seen no arrests made around the free speech area,” Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said at an Operation Safety Net press conference Monday. “We have seen protests, including a rather robust rally over at 38th and Chicago, but no arrests, no fires and no damage to property has been noted.”

Harrington said that his department is continuing to track rallies and protests, and nothing yet indicates any threat to the court proceedings at the Hennepin County Government Center.

“The first week of testimony in the trial went as we anticipated,” Hennepin County Sheriff Chief Deputy Tracey Martin said. “We heard emotional testimony in the courtroom. We saw some increased demonstrations out on the plaza, and our deputies were prepared and professional. We continue to ask for the public’s help to keep the process inside and outside of the courtroom running smoothly.”

Martin added that the trial is proceeding on schedule.

While Harrington said there are no known threats to the trial, Col. Matt Langer, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, says his department and others have been running through simulations and exercises in case of any critical events, like a mass shooting or severe weather while a large amount of people are demonstrating outside.

“We believe that those are really important pieces of the planning process to make us better prepared in the event that any of those things happen, and we hope that we don’t,” Langer said, adding that for now, the number of state troopers positioned in the Twin Cities should stay consistent during this second week of testimony.

Another consistent element is the fencing around the Minnesota State Capitol, first erected last year when protests sparked by George Floyd’s death in police custody threatened the building. Harrington said that fence has been replaced recently, but it has the “exact same footprint” as the previous fence.

“That fence was put up rather hastily in May of last year, and we recognize that, structurally, we could do a better job,” Harrington said, adding that the fence is not permanent and that he hopes it comes down “as soon as possible” as DPS continues to monitor threats to the building.

Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer on trial, is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death last May.

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