Minneapolis — Like the Trump administration’s campaign against immigration In Minnesota the winds are droppingMinneapolis will need to decide how to manage temporary memorial sites for two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents last month.
Piles of flowers, signs and artwork quickly formed to commemorate the life Rene is good and Alex Pretty In the places where they were shot. The memorials are the site of candlelight vigils and musical performances and attract a regular flow of visitors.
Public grief sites echo community-led memorials George FloydWho was he? Killed in 2020 By a police officer less than 1 mile (1.61 km) from Judd’s killing. It took the city more than five years to figure out how to officially memorialize the George Floyd Plaza site, and construction is scheduled to begin this year.
Now, the city has two high-profile memorials to manage.
A memorial for Good sprang up within hours of her Jan. 7 murder on a Minneapolis street.
Before the smell of the tear gas used by federal agents on the day Pretty was killed on Jan. 24 dissipated, protesters in Minneapolis were already using tree branches, police tape and candles to mark the spot. Later, people put up crosses, stuffed animals, American flags, and pictures of Pretty.
Caryl Hoffman, a Minnesota resident, said that while she was deeply outraged by the killings of Judd and Brittie, the memorials represented the community’s solidarity.
“This is so unfair,” Hoffman said while visiting Pretty’s memorial recently. “The trauma everyone is experiencing is so great.” “We’re all in this together. And I’m really glad they have this here so everyone can come and be together.”
Nurse Lynn Elrod visited Pretty’s memorial last month and added her own display: a plastic evergreen tree with red hearts and pictures of him and Jude.
“I printed out both pictures and put them back there, just to signify the love we have for them, their contributions to the community and support of their neighbors,” Elrod said.
The residential street where Judd died remains open, but orange traffic cones provide a narrow path for those paying their respects, and a small group of volunteers monitor the pile of flowers, artwork and handwritten signs that have piled up between the sidewalk and the street.
Around the Pretty Monument along the commercial district known as “ Street foodTraffic lanes were temporarily changed and parking lots were closed, Minneapolis city spokesman Jess Olstad said.
“The city’s top priority is to give our community the space to grieve and heal,” Olstad said. “This ensures emergency vehicles can pass through the area and protects those gathering or visiting the memorial.”
Olstad added that the city is “actively working on next steps, including continued community engagement regarding memorials.”
Allie Peters, a spokesman for Mayor Jacob Frey, said last week that it was “too early” to comment on whether the memorials would become permanent.
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Brock is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America It is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.