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CHICAGO–A group of protesters were arrested while demonstrating Thursday at the Federal Building in the Loop as they called for federal charges against former Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke, who was released from a state prison hours earlier after serving just over three years for the killing of Laquan McDonald.
The nine protesters who were detained around 5 p.m. were among several dozen people who gathered in Federal Plaza earlier in the day with former mayoral candidate Ja’mal Green, Rev. Michael Pfleger and the Rev. Jesse Jackson and delivered a letter to U.S. Attorney John Lausch demanding civil rights charges against Van Dyke.
After a dozen protesters locked arms inside the lobby of the Federal Building, some were seen being handcuffed by U.S. marshals.
The group included Green, community organizer William Calloway and Justin Blake, whose nephew, Jacob, was shot and seriously wounded in August 2020 by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, sparking renewed unrest following the police killing of George Floyd earlier that year in Minneapolis. Read more.
