Protesters successfully shut down a Target in South St. Louis County Sunday night – the latest in a series of protests to occur that day.
“We want to hit north, south, east, and west – all over the city until we see justice,” said organizer D. Demond Robinson, presiding bishop of the Kingdom Destiny Fellowship International and senior pastor of Kingdom Dominion Intl Church in Belleville, Ill.
Upon arriving, protestors quietly entered the store trailed by several St. Louis County Police Officers privy to what was about to occur. Suddenly a familiar chant began near the back of the store: “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!”
“You have no brains,” one female shopper mumbled under her breath.
“Is it safe to enter,” one protestor said he overheard a shopper ask.
After marching around the store, protestors staged a die-in blocking the aisle – visual reminders of the length of time Michael Brown Jr.’s body had lain on the ground. The same scene unfolded at a near-by Wal-Mart off Telegraph Road.
“You can’t stop the revolution,” they chanted outside Wal-Mart.
Robinson said protestors will not go home nor will they be silent.
“We will continue to walk up and down the sidewalks and streets. We will continue to go throughout the stores and chant until we see justice,” he said calling for the arrest of former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. “He committed a murder.”
Wilson announced his resignation on Saturday after a grand jury decided not to indict him in the fatal shooting death of the unarmed teen. Robinson also organized a St. Louis Rams protest earlier that afternoon outside the Edward Jones Dome where protestors were greeted with hostility.
“Hearing Rams fans call us ‘[N-word]’ today was eye-opening,” protestor Deray McKesson said via Twitter. “Hate remains bold and brazen in America.”
Robinson said protestors were walking back from the Edward Jones Dome toward Kiener Plaza to re-group and discuss their next direct action plans when they were told by police to remain on the sidewalk. He said police assured protestors that those in compliance would not be arrested or harassed. But, that’s not what happened. At Kiener Plaza, they were warned to disperse or be subject to arrest. The St. Louis Police Department arrested six protestors, including Robinson – who feels he was targeted as an organizer.
He recounted the details of his arrest for a small group of reporters after the Target protest. Describing himself as a peaceful protestor, he said he’s “very angry” and puzzled by his arrest referencing video footage of him standing on a public sidewalk at the time of his “unjust” arrest.
“The people that we’ve asked to work with us as we protest arrested us,” he said.
It was his first time in jail. Robinson said he was charged with unlawful assembly and failure to disperse. During his brief stay in jail – he was held for nearly two hours – he said police antagonized the protestors.
“Because I’m a spiritual man, I believe in the power of prayer,” he said. “I was praying and I was being laughed at by the police.”
Follow this reporter on Twitter: @BridjesONeil
