The soldiers of the National Guard, powerfully armed, keep watch.
Surrounded by metal barriers and rolls of barbed wire for several days, the Minneapolis court in front of which the trial of Derek Chauvin opened on Monday, accused of having killed George Floyd by keeping his knee on his neck for nearly 9 minutes last May 25, is a fortress.
An entrenched camp inside which the announced fight between the prosecution and the defense for the selection of the jury quickly ended.
Judge Peter Cahill, who presides over this eagerly awaited hearing behind a Plexiglas window and without an audience - Covid obliges -, quickly suspended the proceedings, sending the potential jurors home until the next day.
The postponement relates to a procedural point.
At this point, Derek Chauvin is being prosecuted for "second degree murder", which excludes premeditation but involves causing death by committing a crime, and "manslaughter".
The prosecution wants to add a card up its sleeve by including a "third degree murder" prosecution.
The offense is less serious but easier to prove - it suffices to show that the accused engaged in dangerous driving.
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While the judge had already refused to add this charge, the court of appeal decided otherwise last Friday.
The defense of Derek Chauvin, who appeared attentive in his blue suit taking notes in a notebook, is opposed and has taken the Minnesota Supreme Court to court.
Faced with such uncertainty, the judge preferred to delay.
"The potential jurors are there, but let's be realistic, we will not start the selection until at least tomorrow," said Peter Cahill.
The continuation of the trial is on hold.
300 activists massed in front of the court
These procedural games did not affect the conviction of some 300 activists who spent the morning demanding “justice for George Floyd” in front of the bunkerized building.
"I am disgusted when I compare the measures taken here for a peaceful demonstration compared to the weakness of the forces deployed during the insurrection of January 6 in front of the Capitol", protests Chaz Neal, a black bonnet "I can't breathe ”(I can not breathe, the words of George Floyd during his agony filmed by many witnesses) on the head.
Member of a local association fighting for justice, this 43-year-old African-American confides his fears.
VIDEO. Death of George Floyd: "It would be naive to think that Derek Chauvin will be condemned"
“I hope that Chauvin will be condemned but, when you see how the system works, I have doubts.
He is white and he wears a uniform so you never know what can happen, ”he philosopher.
“We want to live in a world where someone who kills a civilian pays the consequences and goes to jail,” proclaims one of the speakers taking turns at the microphone.
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According to the count made by the collective of "communities united against police brutality", 470 people have died in Minnesota at the hands of the police since the year 2000 with only a handful of prosecutions.
Black Lives Matter mask on the nose, this protester also wears a sweatshirt with the effigy of George Floyd.
/ LP / Philippe de Poulpiquet
Within the procession, many "Black lives matter" signs protrude.
"I had already heard about the problem of racism within the Minneapolis police, but I became fully aware of it since the death of George Floyd," said Anna Enfield, 21, a psychology student at the University of Minnesota, Venetian blond hair and milky skin.
"There are no good police in a racist system," exclaim the demonstrators who begin a short parade in the empty streets of the city center.
"We will come back as much as it takes to keep the pressure on," said Eric Dorland, 22.
If jury selection does resume on Tuesday, the trial is expected to extend for two months.
