After throngs of residents rioted in Baltimore following the funeral of a black man who died in police custody, activists in Minneapolis announced Tuesday their plans to hold a rally in support of the demonstrators.
Black Lives Matter Minneapolis said on its social media accounts that the group plans to hold a rally at 5:30 p.m. at Gold Medal Park in Minneapolis to "show the people of Baltimore that we stand in solidarity with them and with their resistance because their resistance is for justice and their justice is our justice."
The announcement came as National Guardsmen took up positions across Baltimore and volunteers began cleaning the streets in the wake of Monday demonstrations, which lead to at least 15 officers being injured, more than a hundred vehicle or structure fires, and nearly 200 arrests.
The riots broke out following the funeral of Freddie Gray, 25, who died April 19 of spinal cord and other injuries sustained while in police custody. Gray's case is the latest to trigger a national debate over police's use of deadly force against black men.
"The media will continue to paint the people of Baltimore as rioters and looters but people forget that the City and Police of Baltimore loot and destroy Black and Brown communities of Baltimore every day of the year," said organizers on the Facebook page for Black Lives Matter Minneapolis.
Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder said the department routinely discusses events with demonstrators.
"We work with them to ensure safety," Elder said. "We really do recognize people's right to demonstrate lawfully."
Elder wasn't immediately able to confirm if protest organizers reached out to police about Wednesday's rally.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Photo: Richard Tsong-Taatarii; Black Lives Minneapolis held an MLK march from Snelling and University in St. Paul to the Capitol . They "died in" on an I94 overpass along the way.
