Sasha Cotton, the director of the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) in Minneapolis, loves the city’s armed black militia and wants to see fewer cops patrolling the streets.
Cotton and her department are at the forefront of a new
$1.1 million initiative to create an unarmed civilian patrol force that could replace the police in some capacities. Meanwhile, she also supports a different, unofficial, armed black militia that carries out its own patrols around Minneapolis: the Minnesota Freedom Fighters.
“It’s their right to be out on the streets and it’s commendable,” Cotton told the
Los Angeles Times, speaking on the Freedom Fighters for an article that ran Monday.
“It’s important to have men from the community step up for the community,” she said.
Gun-toting members of the group have been seen around Minneapolis and Minnesota more broadly, often marching down the street or acting as a makeshift security detail during protests.
