Black Lives Matter St. Paul plans to protest at the finish line of Sunday’s Twin Cities Marathon, but after word got out, angry tweets from irritated dissenters were incidentally directed at the Minneapolis chapter’s twitter page.
“Disrupting a marathon is not a way to build support. I’d be pissed,” one person tweeted about the planned protest. “You have a good cause. This won’t help.”
Another person, who’s a supporter of the movement, tweeted: “@BlackLivesMpls is clearly losing the plot. As someone who is on your side, please get back on point.”
But members of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis responded to the tweets, pointing out that it’s actually Black Lives Matter St. Paul planning the protest.
One tweet read: “Please direct ur comments to @BlackLivesStP they r planning this action, not BLM Mpls.”
And another: “@BlackLivesStP is planning this disruption not BLM Mpls. We are separate groups of ppl. Please contact the right grp.”
Black Lives Matter Minneapolis did not respond to questions about why the group seems to be separating itself from Black Lives Matter St. Paul, but will be releasing an official statement on Facebook Thursday afternoon.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Police Chief Tom Smith are now warning protestors to keep away from the marathon, according to MPR News.
“Make sure your actions do not interfere with the safety of others, not the runners, not the spectators, not the men and women who will be working the event,” Smith warned protestors. “Otherwise there will be consequences, including arrest.”
Coleman said “all options” are on the table to make sure Sunday’s marathon goes as planned.
St. Paul police have rarely arrested Black Lives Matter protestors in the past but are prepared to on Sunday.
“But here you’re really talking about getting to a point where you’re directly interfering with someone’s ability to accomplish their goal,” Coleman added. “And that’s where your right to free speech ends.”
Coleman met with Black Lives Matter Leader Rashad Turner this morning to discuss the upcoming protest.