Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) opted to cancel a rally in her home state of Minnesota amid protests.
The rally was initially scheduled to take place in St. Louis Park, Minn., on Sunday evening. But, protesters holding signs and megaphones commanded the stage to confront Klobuchar about the alleged mishandling of the Myon Burrell case.
Protestors at the Democratic presidential hopeful’s rally chanted “Klobuchar has got to go,” “Black Lives Matter,” and “Free Myon” while holding various signs with opinions about the handling of the case.
The PA just announced that the @amyklobuchar rally tonight had been cancelled. https://t.co/2ZVznxRYF8
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) March 2, 2020
The rally was delayed by protests for nearly 40 minutes before Klobuchar ultimately decided to cancel.
Protestors entered the @amyklobuchar rally at St. Louis Park HS. The group is here in support of Myon Burrell, convicted of killing a teenager several years ago, for which he maintains his innocence. Sen. Klobuchar was the county attorney during Burrell's first trial. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/K45aGsr5Sq
— Jeff Wagner (@Jeff_Wagner4) March 2, 2020
Klobuchar’s spokesperson released a statement to announce their decision.
“The campaign offered a meeting with the Senator if they (protestors) would leave the stage after being on stage for more than an hour. After the group initially agreed, they backed out of the agreement and we are canceling the event,” the statement read.
Klobuchar campaign statement: "The campaign offered a meeting with the senator if they would leave the stage after being on the stage for more than an hour. After initially agreeing, the group backed out, and we are now cancelling the event."
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) March 2, 2020
St. Louis Park Police officers were at the scene of the rally, but no actions were taken against the protesters.
Klobuchar’s cancellation comes about a week after Myon Burrell’s interview with ABC News.
In 2002, Burrell was convicted and sentenced for first-degree murder in the shooting death of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards. The child was killed by a stray bullet and investigators claimed Burrell — a 16-year-old at the time — was guilty of pulling the trigger.
However, there was no substantial evidence to support the theory other than conflicting stories from a rival gang member identifying Burrell as the shooter. Even Edwards’ stepfather Leonard Winborn has spoken out to share his concerns about the case admitting he isn’t sure justice was served.
“Looking at it right now, it was an elevation thing,” Winborn previously told the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. “I know all the players. I think my family got hoodwinked.”
At the time of Burrell’s conviction, Klobuchar was the chief prosecutor of Hennepin County when the incident occurred. Burrell, now 33, still maintains his innocence. Although Klobuchar is no longer the Hennepin County attorney, her name has been connected to the controversial case.
