Trahern Crews, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota, led protests after the murder of George Floyd that helped spark a national movement against police brutality and has served as a commissioner for one of the first reparations panels in the country.
On Jan. 30, one of Minnesota’s central figures in the movement for protecting the rights of Black Americans found himself outside of his home being handcuffed by federal agents. He was one of nine journalists and activists who were arrested and indicted after taking part in or covering a Jan. 18 protest at a St. Paul church where a pastor serves as an acting field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has flooded the Twin Cities with 3,000 federal agents in recent months.
