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'That's What's Going To Happen': Brooklyn Center PD Protesters Speak Out After Being Arrested

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Thursday afternoon, dozens of protesters were released from the Hennepin County Jail.

Most of them had been involved in protests outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Tuesday night.

State law enforcement officials say that a total of 79 people were arrested on Tuesday.

Most of the people released Thursday afternoon said they were arrested for protesting outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department past curfew.

"I probably heard like three or four dispersal orders. They did it right at 8 and then they started moving out of the precinct towards us and they did it again and again and again," said William Cushman of Minneapolis.

Cushman, a college student, said eventually flash bangs and pepper spray were fired into the crowd. He was arrested and put on a probable cause hold for 36 hours before being released without being charged.

"The real civil disobedience for me is staying out past that curfew and not listening to them when they tell you to go home. Because I get to make that choice," said Cushman.

"We packed up our car, we got here Monday, went straight to the protest," said Tarah Stangler.

Stangler drove from Madison, Wisconsin to Brooklyn Center. She, too, was arrested Tuesday night and put on a bus before being taken to jail.

"Everybody on my bus started getting heat exhaustion really fast. The panic that sets in when you are about to get arrested was also elevating everybody's body temperatures. The cuffs were way too tight," said Stangler.

Stangler said once she was in jail she contacted the Lawyers Guild for herself and others who were arrested.

"The answer to state sanctioned police violence when a cop kills somebody should never be state sanctioned police violence or National Guard violence or any kind of violence," said Stangler. "But unfortunately, a lot of us understand that that's what's going to happen so you have to have provisions in place to be prepared for it."

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office also said about a dozen people were arrested in Minneapolis in past couple days for looting or burglary.

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