White Nationalist Group’s Shrine For Justine Damond Taken Down By Police

The police in Minneapolis removed a memorial that a white nationalist group had created to honor Justine Ruszczyk Damond, an Australian-American woman killed by a Somali officer in July.

The memorial was set up outside the Minneapolis Police Department’s 5th Precinct by a hate group called Identify Evropa on Friday. The group is based out of northern California and calls itself as a “generation of awakened Europeans.” This white supremacist group was established in March 2016. The shrine that the group created consisted of portrait of Damond, roses, 12 lit candles and signs that read “United We Stand.”

Earlier in August, the group helped organize participants in the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The group took to Twiiter to announce about the shrine they created. Their tweet read, “On Friday, Identity Evropa activists created a shrine for Justine Ruszczyk Damond at the 5th Precinct in Minneapolis, MN where her Somali-born killer ... was assigned.”

Spokesman of the police department, John Elder said when the department came to know about the memorial created outside the police department, an officer cleared it up.

Elder told the Minnesota Public Radio News, “We cannot allow any memorial and anything like that to be put up at that location.”

According to the report, a statement was released Sunday evening with regards to this matter. The Minneapolis Mayor-elect Jacob Frey in the statement condemned the setting up of a memorial outside the police headquarters.

Frey said, “The action ... outside the 5th Precinct was cowardly and disgusting. I condemn the perpetrators and their tactics in the strongest possible terms.” He added, “Identity Evropa and those who share their values have no place in our city. Hate has no place in Minneapolis. Period,” reported the Star Tribune.

After news about the shrine being cleared broke, the group again tweeted calling those who cleared “lunatic.”

According to various reports, an officer Mohamed Noor had shot and killed 40-year-old Damond after the former North Sydney woman called 911 to report a possible sexual assault behind her house. However, the officer was not charged and no case was filed against him. Damond, was injured in the abdomen. She was a life coach and yoga instructor and was supposed to get married to a Minneapolis man in a month’s time.

According to the New York Daily News, Mike Freeman, the Heppenin County Attorney, was confronted by the members of the hate group earlier in December with regards to the fact that the officer involved in killing Damond was not charged yet. Freeman said, “I’ve got to have the evidence and I don’t have it yet.”

Damond’s father issued a plea from Sydney, Australia, last week. According to him, the investigation was not carried out properly and completely.

He said, “We implore Mr Freeman and the prosecutor’s office to continue to pursue a rigorous investigation and examination of evidence of the events leading up to Justine’s death,” reported the New York Daily News.