Jury Convicts Man Who Wounded Black Protesters in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A jury has convicted a Minnesota man who shot and wounded five black men demonstrating against the fatal shooting of a black man by Minneapolis police officers.

Twenty-four-year-old Allen Scarsella of Bloomington was found guilty of assault and riot charges Wednesday. Scarsella was accused of shooting and injuring the men at a Black Lives Matter protest after the death of Jamar Clark in 2015.

Attorneys for Scarsella and the three men he was with say their clients went to the protest outside a north Minneapolis police station to livestream video on Nov. 23, 2015.

Scarsella testified that he opened fire to protect himself after he says he was punched and told to leave by protesters.

The other three men have pleaded not guilty and await trial.