The Minneapolis police cleared out the “peace garden” that has been located in Uptown on Wednesday morning. The garden, also known as Boogie World, has been located at Lake St. And Girard Ave. since the death of Winston Smith in early June.
As reported by The Minnesota Sun, the violence in Uptown has continued almost every night since early June, with limited police intervention. A video taken last week shows a driver doing donuts in the middle of the street as a passenger shoots a gun into the air. The increased violence and crime has been taking place in Uptown Minneapolis and in other parts of the city since the death of Winston Smith. The rising crime has caused several businesses to close and caused the cancellation of the 2021 Uptown Art Fair.
Smith had multiple warrants out for his arrest and was fatally shot in early June in Minneapolis after pulling out a handgun while being stopped by police. Riots broke out against police brutality, following riots already taking place after the deaths of Daunte Wright and George Floyd.
As the news of the decision to remove the “peace garden” spread, angry activists started speaking out. One tweet from an activist said “at this point I’m f—ing speechless.”
Ope. Meltdown at the "peace garden" in progress this morning.
The property owner has finally made the decision to dismantle it. pic.twitter.com/Fm56LWBheA
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) July 14, 2021
Another activist tweeted out “There is no way but forward. No paths but the destruction of White supremacist colonial capitalism or the destruction of the entire world.”
We are not leaving.
Until justice comes, we cannot.
There is no way but forward. No paths but the destruction of white supremacist colonial capitalism or the destruction of the entire world.Winston “Boogie” Smith will see justice.
Come fight for him.
The party isn’t over yet.
— Silvacor | StopLine3 | WinstonSmithWasAssassinated (@EnbyCharlieBrwn) July 14, 2021
Make sure to add all of these Twitter handles to your ***private*** list of KKKommie a-holes so you can see where the fungus plans to pop up next.
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) July 14, 2021
A statement from Seven Points Uptown, the owner of the private property where the garden was located, said that they chose to remove the garden in conjunction with the city because of “The continued destruction of property, violent acts, arson, noise ordinance violations, and blocking access to Uptown residents and businesses.” Seven Points Uptown called the garden an “unsustainable and unhealthy situation.”
Minneapolis police set up a perimeter during the process of dismantling the garden, where they were confronted by angry activists.
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network and The College Fix. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
Photo “Uptown Minneapolis” by Matthew Deery. CC BY 2.0.
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