On Monday, banners were dropped by members of Black Lives Matter and Antifa during the Super Bowl LII’s media event warning that “#WeReadyWeComin.”
As the two large banners were dropped inside, hundreds of leftist protesters marched in the streets and blocked traffic surrounding the event at the Xcel Energy Center. Many of the demonstrators have formed an Antifa-aligned group calling themselves the “Super Bowl Anti-Racist Anti-Corporate Coalition.”
According to their Facebook page, the group is planning to hold protests every day leading up to the main event. “Their plans will culminate on Sunday, February 4, with a 3pm rally at Peavey Park (Franklin & Chicago Ave), followed by a march to US Bank Stadium,” the page states.
“The banner drop and rally/march marks the first day of the week of protests surrounding SB52. The Super Bowl brings with it a SEAR-I designation, which has resulted in the Minnesota’s largest security operation in the history of the state,” the anarchist website Unicorn Riot reports.
The National Guard, multiple federal agencies, and law enforcement from across the nation have been in Minneapolis since the 26th in preparation for the sporting event.
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“This is not about being anti-football, it is anti-corporatization,” one of the Black Lives Matter protest organizers recently said on the Edge of Sports podcast.
Groups planning to protest the Super Bowl include AFSCME Local 2822, AFSCME 3800, American Indian Movement, Anti-War Committee, Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB), Filipinx for Immigrant rights and Racial Justice in Minnesota – FIRM, Freedom Road Socialist Organization – Twin Cities, MIRAC – Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Minnesota Neighbors for Justice, Native Lives Matter, Rise Up Times, Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota, SURJ MN: Showing Up for Racial Justice – Minnesota, Take A Knee Nation, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).
Many of the groups held a joint “training event” on January 27 to prepare for the protests.
Nearly 3,000 people have expressed interest in protesting on the Facebook event page.
