We feature our 2022 Minneapolis encampment coverage after the new encampment evictions this last week.

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ENCAMPMENT EVICTIONS IN MINNEAPOLIS

On Oct. 6, 2022, the City of Minneapolis evicted three encampments of unhoused people, leaving over 100 people displaced without tents and blankets as a cold front swept the region. SWAT teams forced residents of the Near North, Van White, and Cedar-Franklin encampments to leave their tents as city workers bulldozed and threw away their belongings.

Also on Oct. 6, dozens of people recently released from prison and living in a halfway house were evicted. In other moves just days before, the city used a massive police presence to evict an encampment near Bloomington and Lake St.

“The state of housing in the City of Minneapolis, in the region and Twin Cities region as a whole, is not set up for the needs of the citizens here.”
- Mandla Xaba, former resident of Near North

In response to the severity of the recent evictions and the many previous sweeps, advocates of the unhoused held a multi-day occupation with tents outside of the Minneapolis City Hall pushing for resources and solutions. Also in response, hours after the evictions, graffiti reading “Evict Frey” with an image of a tent was painted on the side of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s apartment. Read the full story > Article link ([link removed]) <

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Three Encampments Evicted, Including Near North Which Provided Shelter and Safety to Unhoused People for Two Years

DOZENS OF FORMERLY INCARCERATED MEN EVICTED FROM HALFWAY HOUSE

The same day as the three encampment evictions, dozens of formerly incarcerated men were forced to leave the Great River Landing halfway house, according to Michelle Gross of Communities United Against Police Brutality, because “apparently the county forgot to write a check.” Great River Landing is the housing space for Better Futures Minnesota, a nonprofit working to reintegrate formerly incarcerated men into society.

Marvina Haynes, the creator of the group MN Wrongfully Convicted Judicial Reform whose brother is “wrongfully incarcerated,” spoke to the elected officials at City Hall several times in the last few days about the men being evicted from the transitional house. On Oct. 6, Haynes recounted receiving a call from a friend telling her that he was about to be evicted from Better Futures and had nowhere to go. She said up to 40 men were left displaced from the eviction.

Marvina and many others are worried about the repercussions that the sudden displacement will have on the men attempting to reintegrate into society after prison and worry about parole violations occurring.

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Halfway House for Recently Incarcerated Evicted by Minneapolis Authorities

UNHOUSED IN MINNEAPOLIS, KING SPEAKS OUT

Earlier this Summer we heard from King (video ([link removed]) below) about the cycle of encampment evictions and seeking a place for refuge. At the time, King was a resident of what was the 29th St. and 14th Ave. encampment.

"We came from North Loop. We've had many camps since Powderhorn [Evicted in August 2020]. They keep coming, bulldozing us, plowing our stuff." - King

King spoke about being evicted from a handful of encampments. He said he was in the North Loop encampment where embattled and politically-connected land owner Hamoudi Sabri had invited people to his land and promised to not evict, as well as the one on Bloomington Avenue and 26th St., the Speedway up the street from there, 14th Ave. and 24th St., and on 30th Ave. near Lake Street. Each one of those communities--formed out of the need for safety--were evicted.
Read the full story > Article link ([link removed]) <

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Unhoused in Minneapolis: Encampment Resident Speaks About Evictions

ENCAMPMENT DEFENSE

Encampments throughout the city have various forms of defense available to them provided by encampment defenders. Some encampment residents need support moving their possessions during an eviction, others want defenders to stave off the police to buy them extra time to gather their possessions (usually residents are given less than 15 minutes to evict their belongings when police arrive to clear the encampment.)

Near North had been constantly threatened with eviction since shortly after its inception in the Fall of 2020. Encampment defenders ultimately prevented numerous eviction attempts. In March 2021, Minneapolis Police arrested five and assaulted many others during a failed eviction attempt ([link removed]) that met resistance from camp residents and their supporters.

Police made a large scale effort to block encampment defenders from getting to the area of Near North during the Oct. 6 raid. A large police presence during encampment evictions is now the norm after several this year on encampments off of Lake St. included upward of 100 police officers.

This past summer on July 8 at the 29th and 14th encampment, dozens of community members rallied in the early morning hours and staved off what many thought was an eviction attempt by the city.

In the video below ([link removed]) you can watch East Phillips resident and encampment supporter, Angela, along with the aforementioned King, speak about the roles they were taking during the early morning of July 8 and their thoughts on encampment evictions.
Read the full story > Article link ([link removed]) <

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Residents and Supporters Prepare for Encampment Eviction in Minneapolis

RESIDENTS SPEAK ABOUT 29TH/14TH ENCAMPMENT BEING EVICTED AND HAVING THEIR BELONGINGS TRASHED

Minneapolis Police evicted nearly 100 residents from the empty lot turned encampment off 29th Street and 14th Avenue on July 20, 2022. Some residents were woken up by police pointing guns at them while yelling that they’re “trespassed” and they must leave without their property. A majority of people’s belongings were bulldozed, thrown into large garbage trucks, and trashed.

Unicorn Riot was on the scene shortly after the eviction started on Wednesday afternoon and spoke with several residents who are now displaced from the tent city that provided them safety and community. Read the full story > Article link ([link removed]) / live stream ([link removed]) / video ([link removed]) <

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Minneapolis Encampment Evicted, Possessions Thrown Away

ENCAMPMENT DEFENSE SUCCESSFUL DESPITE AGGRESSIVE CONTRACTORS

On June 1, 2022, authorities unsuccessfully cleared an encampment of tents on an unused strip of land off Interstate 35. Eviction defenders thwarted the sweep by asking for documents, helping residents pack and move, and using their bodies and placing objects in the way of authorities. Despite aggression from the contractors hired for the eviction cleanup, no tents were taken. Yet, all residents moved out of fear shortly after. [Video below ([link removed]) ]

Big Top Contracting, hired to assist the city in the sweep, arrived on the scene around 10 a.m. with several vehicles and workers. Alfonzo Williams, owner of Big Top, walked up taking photographs with his phone. He then initiated an aggressive sequence of events by ordering his crew of workers to start uprooting tents, some of which were housing people at the time. “Take it. Take it. Take it,” Williams barked at his workers.

Neither the State Patrol nor the MnDOT workers made moves to start clearing tents up to that point. Shortly after Williams called on his workers to take the tents, and as tents were beginning to be disassembled, a State Patrol officer came up to the MnDOT supervisor and told him they were stopping the operation and everyone had to leave. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. We’re pulling out,” said the MnDOT Supervisor.

By 10:40 a.m., the eviction attempt was called off and the authorities and contractors left. No tents were taken, but the residents moved to other encampments because of the stress and uncertainty, seeking safety in numbers amid continuing evictions.

In a revealing twist, Williams, who is also the Chief Financial Officer of the Agape Movement, showed up wearing an inside-out Agape t-shirt with a mask over his face.

Agape was formed after the George Floyd Uprising by elder ex-gang members who work with the city of Minneapolis. Agape’s stated mission is to “bridge the gap between the community and law enforcement.” To this point, they’ve been a city consultant working with the Minneapolis Office of Violence Prevention to do “outreach & engagement” and have mostly provided security for the city in George Floyd Square (GFS). They were contracted for at least $375,000 between 2020 and 2021.

Mostly seen at GFS, Agape members became known widely when they served as key actors in enabling the city to move some of the barricades at the Square on June 3, 2021. Local activists have called them a counter-insurgency force or collaborators, while some others welcome them. According to the Spokesman Recorder, Agape stated they were not involved in the attempted encampment eviction on June 1, 2022.

A few days after the attempted sweep, Abolition Media, “an online news source for revolutionary movements,” published a communique on June 4, 2022, reporting that a truck owned by Alfonzo Williams contracting was “torched for assisting the Minneapolis encampment eviction.” The communique ended with the call-out rising in popularity across the country, “You sweep, we strike.”
Read the full story > Article link ([link removed]) <
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Eviction Attempt Stopped Despite Aggression From Big Top Contracting


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