Minnesota state police arrested a television journalist Monday night as he was trying to cover a demonstration where protesters had blocked traffic on an interstate.
The activists were protesting the police shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark, who witnesses say was handcuffed when he was shot Sunday, even though Minneapolis police claim he was not handcuffed.
The shooting was supposedly caught on a surveillance camera as well as dash cams but police have not released any video, which would likely determine whether or not Clark was handcuffed when shot.
Clark was transported to a hospital, listed as brain-dead but he has since been taken off life support and has died.
The shooting has prompted several protests, including one where Black Lives Matter activists were blocking Interstate 94 Monday night.
Covering the demonstration was Fox 9 news reporter Jack Highberger, who was standing on the side of the road as police began making arrests.
The video shows a police officer walkng up to him as he is speaking into a microphone while his cameraman was standing several yards away.
“This is the first arrest right here and certainly not going to be the last,” Highberger informs viewers.
“You wanna be next? You wanna be next?” the state police officer asks.
“No,” responds Highberger.
“Then get going or you’re going to be next,” the cop says.
“I’m now being ….” Highberger tries to explain to viewers as he was led away to be arrested.
Meanwhile, dozens of protesters were standing in the road, blocking traffic, watching him get arrested.
Police ended up arresting 51 people before the night was over, charging them with unlawful assembly and pedestrian on the freeway.
Highberger posted the video of his arrest on his Facebook page where reaction from the majority of commenters celebrated his arrest, congratulating police while accusing the reporter of getting what he deserved because he did not comply.
And also because he would dare cover the protest in the first place, which is something they did not deem newsworthy.
However, the video shows he was not standing in the road as several protesters and police were doing.
Even one of his critics acknowledged this as he wished him dead.
Police also arrested another reporter named Niko who was live streaming for the site Unicorn Riot, which is reporting that he was actually the first person arrested, indicating that perhaps police were trying to get rid of the cameras before they moved in to arrest the actual protesters.
However, Niko’s live stream feed cut out shortly before his arrest, so he was unable to record it.
Meanwhile, protests continue in front of a Minneapolis police precinct as you can see in the videos below posted by Unicorn Riot.
#4thPrecinctShutDown happening in full effect. 10 tents up & full community kitchen. #Justice4Jamar pic.twitter.com/kaivNJdMc4
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) November 17, 2015
And although the state’s top law enforcement agency said it is investigating the shooting of Jamar Clark, the Minneapolis mayor and city council are asking federal authorities to investigate, so this is not going to go away anytime soon.
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