“Black Lives Matter” Demonstration in St. Paul Causes Traffic Headaches

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Martin Luther King Jr. Day march in St. Paul is causing some tense moments between police and protesters as well as disrupting light-rail and interstate traffic.

Hundreds of protesters tried Monday to march onto Interstate 94 in St. Paul but were diverted to side streets by a heavy contingent of Minnesota State Patrol officers. Interstate traffic was held back for a short time. Earlier, the march temporarily halted light-rail trains on a Minneapolis-to-St. Paul route.

The Black Lives Matter contingent was making its way toward the state Capitol. The marchers are using the rally to press a point about policing tactics they say have gone overboard and led to the deaths of young men in Minnesota and elsewhere.