Court overturns conviction of protester at I-94 shutdown following Philando Castile shooting
The conviction of a protester involved in the temporary shutdown of Interstate 94 following the 2016 police shooting of Philando Castile was overturned Monday.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the lower court failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the public nuisance crime a Ramsey County District Court jury convicted Jeffrey Berger of committing following his short trial in November 2017, according to an opinion published Monday.
Specifically, the higher court determined that the state did not prove that Berger, 77, personally “interfered with, obstructed, or rendered dangerous for passage” I-94 when he followed others onto the freeway on July 9, 2016, three days after now-former St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez fatally shot Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights.
Hundreds of demonstrators marched onto I-94 at the Lexington Parkway overpass in St. Paul to protest the shooting. Their presence ultimately led police to temporarily shut down a section of I-94 as officers attempted to clear the freeway.
Read more: https://www.twincities.com/2019/01/07/court-overturns-conviction-of-protester-at-i-94-shutdown-following-philando-castile-shooting/