PHOTOS: A few dozen 'stand with George Floyd' in Bemidji ahead of Chauvin trial

Attendees hold up signs at a social justice demonstration Thursday in downtown Bemidji. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

By Pioneer Staff Report and Jillian Gandsey

March 04, 2021 at 5:27 PM

BEMIDJI -- A group gathered along Paul Bunyan Drive on Thursday for a "Bemidji Stands with George Floyd" demonstration.

The event was hosted by Our Revolution Bemidji, Project for Change, Native Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter, according to the Facebook event page . The demonstration was held ahead of the Derek Chauvin trial, which begins Monday, March 8, with jury selection; opening arguments are slated for March 29.

Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the killing of Floyd, a Black man, after he knelt on Floyd’s neck until he lost consciousness and was later pronounced dead.

Bemidji saw its largest protests in response to the killing last summer.

Demonstrators hold signs along Paul Bunyan Drive at a social justice demonstration Thursday in downtown Bemidji. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

Demonstrators hold up a Black Lives Matter flag as a car passes a social justice demonstration Thursday in downtown Bemidji. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

Demonstrators line up along Paul Bunyan Drive for a social justice demonstration Thursday in downtown Bemidji. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

A demonstrator holds up a sign reading “enough is enough” during a social justice demonstration Thursday in downtown Bemidji. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

A demonstrators flies a Black Lives Matter flag at a social justice demonstration Thursday in downtown Bemidji. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

PHOTOS: A few dozen 'stand with George Floyd' in Bemidji ahead of Chauvin trial

The gathering was hosted by Our Revolution Bemidji, Project for Change, Native Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter, according to the Facebook event.