Maxine Waters tells Minnesota BLM protesters 'to get more confrontational'
Maxine Waters (D-CA) joins demonstrators in a protest outside the Brooklyn Center police station on Saturday night
California Representative Maxine Waters appeared on the Brooklyn Center protest on Saturday
'We gotta stay on the street,' Waters said, encouraging protesters to ignore the night's curfew
She also talked about previous botched attempts at police reform and how she wants to see Derek Chauvin receive a guilty verdict in his trial, which is set for closing arguments on Monday
Earlier on Saturday, protesters marched to the house of Pete Orput, the man responsible for the second-degree manslaughter charges being faced by former police officer Kimberly Potter
There were clashes between protesters and police on Friday night, with cops deploying pepper spray
Protests have been more peaceful so far on Saturday night at the Brooklyn Center police station
Protests are also taking place in other cities across the nation, including Washington D.C.
California Representative Maxine Waters joined protesters in Minnesota as demonstrations entered a seventh night on Saturday after the death of Daunte Wright.
Waters told the protesters at Brooklyn Center that she will fight for justice on their behalf and urged them to 'to get more confrontational' - just one day after protests descended into violence.
'I am not happy that we have talked about police reform for so long,' Waters said. 'We're looking for a guilty verdict,' she added in regards to the Derek Chauvin trial. 'If we don't, we cannot go away.'
'We gotta stay on the street,' Waters was recorded saying, adding that protesters needed 'to get more confrontational' and they should ignore the curfew in place.
Her comments sparked outrage on Twitter.
'Of course she’ll get away with saying that while anyone else would’ve been thrown in jail,' Rick Santella tweeted.
Another user tweeted, 'Good grief lady, leave get out of here.'
One person also accused Waters of 'stirring people up again with her calls for violence.'
Waters is planning on staying in town until Monday.
According to CBS Minnesota, officials stated that there was a brief altercation between reporters and proresters as Waters was leaving on Saturday, the first reports of any skirmishes.
The Pioneer Press reports demonstrators gathered Saturday afternoon at the home of Washington County Attorney Pete Orput, responsible for the second-degree manslaughter charges against Kimberly Potter.
The protesters stood outside of Orput's home before marching through is neighborhood in Stillwater.
Black Lives Matter activist Nekima Levy Armstrong relayed that Orput left his home briefly to engage in a conversation with protesters.
Protests have also been taking place in Chicago following the death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, as well as New York City and across the rest of the United States.
On Friday night, many protests across the nation started off peacefully before sporadic clashes broke out between Black Lives Matters protesters and the police.
The state is also the location of the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, charged in the death of George Floyd last year.
The closing arguments in his trial are set for Monday, after which there could be a verdict and the potential for unrest based on that verdict.
University of Minnesota medical students and doctors also marched on the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Saturday, a day after it was the site of most of the night's unrest.
Peaceful protests on Friday devolved into clashes between protesters and police, with flash bangs and pepper spray utilized by the cops.
There originally wasn't expected to be a curfew for the first time in several days, before one was suddenly imposed during the night's demonstrations. Media members were briefly detained and 136 people were arrested.
A temporary restraining order was filed to prevent police from arresting or harming journalists.
'Following feedback from media, and in light of a recent temporary restraining order (TRO) filed in federal court, MSP will not photograph journalists or their credentials,' the Minnesota State Patrol said in a statement.
There have been no reports of incidents involving members of the media on Saturday night at this point.
According to the Washington Post, several protesters were arrested on Saturday night. It's unclear why they were arrested, as the protest of about a hundred was winding to a close.
Earlier in the day, there were peaceful protests across the nation, including Columbus, Ohio, and Philadelphia.
According to NBC Philadelphia, crowds in that city walked through City Center towards City Hall peacefully in a protest that lasted around five hours.
Nevertheless, some businesses did board up and 1,000 National Guard troops were preemptively deployed.