High school teacher chains herself to court where Derek Chauvin is standing trial for murder of George Floyd to protest police killings in Minnesota: Cops investigate 'suspicious packages' and more buildings are boarded up
A Minnesota high school teacher chained herself to the courthouse where Derek Chauvin is facing trial for the murder of George Floyd to protest police killings in Minnesota.
Kaia Hirt, a tenth grade English teacher at Champlin Park High School, wrapped herself in chains locked onto a security fence at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis on Monday and stayed put overnight.
She told DailyMail.com that her dramatic gesture was a protest against what she views as city and state officials' failure to 'build a relationship with the community since the death of George Floyd last May'.
She said that she planned on staying chained to the fence until she got some assurances that things are going to change.
Those changes included a commitment from Senator Warren Limmer to conduct a vote on police reform, an end to qualified immunity and lifting the statute of limitations on police involved homicides.
Kaia Hirt, a tenth grade English teacher, wrapped herself in chains locked onto a security fence at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis on Monday and stayed put overnight
Hirt (center) told DailyMail.com that her dramatic gesture was a protest against what she views as city and state officials' failure to 'build a relationship with the community since the death of George Floyd last May'
Hirt spoke told DailyMail.com on Tuesday morning as Chauvin's trial entered its second day.
'This trial is about the value of a black man's life in American society, and it is representative of where we are at with race relations in our country,' Hirt said.
Minneapolis police officers investigated reports of a suspicious person who may have deposited packages just before the trial resumed.
Officers were seen conducted a thorough search of trash cans around the heavily-fortified courthouse. It's unclear whether anything was found.
Buildings are still being boarded up around the city that remains on high alert amid fears that the Chauvin trial could kick of violence similar to that which erupted immediately after Floyd's death last spring.
Hirt spoke told DailyMail.com on Tuesday morning as Chauvin's trial entered its second day
'This trial is about the value of a black man's life in American society, and it is representative of where we are at with race relations in our country,' Hirt said
Minneapolis police officers investigated reports of a suspicious person who may have deposited packages just before the trial resumed on Tuesday
Officials in Minneapolis have been preparing for potential unrest surrounding the trial for months, coming up with a plan dubbed Operation Safety Net.
The mission of the operation is to support peaceful protests while preventing violence.
The first phase of the operation was completed during the two weeks of jury selection. Phase two began on Monday with opening statements, followed by phase three during jury deliberations and phase four when a verdict is reached.
Two thousand members of the Minnesota National Guard were called in for the operation, as well as 1,100 law enforcement officers.
'You will see an increased presence it will be both a combination of National Guard as well as law enforcement officers,' Mayor Jacob Frey said.
Approach roads have been blocked off and the buildings buttressed with a double layer of concrete barricades. Bails of barbed wire spiral between the blocks and steel fences loom above.
Windows are boarded up sealing the court off from public view and green tarpaulin covers the fencing by the parking lot and entrance believed to be reserved for jurors whose anonymity will be strictly guarded.
Armored vehicles and members of the National Guard stand ready, in a security effort estimated to have already cost more than $1million.
The Hennepin County Government Center was heavily fortified ahead of Chauvin's trial
Buildings are still being boarded up on Tuesday around the city that remains on high alert
