A protester wearing a Brett Favre jersey was seen by local news reporters climbing to the rafters of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN during a Vikings game on Sunday.
There is a guy in a #Vikings Brett Favre jersey hanging from a banner inside US Bank Stadium. For real. pic.twitter.com/MJRtqNX9Zz
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) January 1, 2017
Moments later another fan who appears to be in the stadium sent out a video of cops giving chase to the man.
.@BradBiggs Cops going to get him pic.twitter.com/ylkfZBiFor
— [J]ayJChillin (@JayJazzi) January 1, 2017
And another angle of the chase:
It’s all fun and games until the PoPo show #usbankstadium #vikings pic.twitter.com/0yk1oAWgf0
— WacoJohnny (@WacoJohnny) January 1, 2017
According to another perceptive seemingly taken by someone inside the stadium, backed up by an ESPN.com report, it was all an act of protest against U.S. Bank’s alleged investment in the Dakota Access Pipeline project.
A protestor is on this banner at U.S. Bank Stadium, criticizing the bank’s investment in… https://t.co/Ftf8IQSB8S pic.twitter.com/YfQ8gqhGF0
— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) January 1, 2017
The local Star Tribune newspaper also issued a report backing up the Dakota Access Pipeline protest reports.
Pipeline protestors hang banner from U.S. Bank Stadium to promote cause; #Vikings game not interrupted https://t.co/8vfQwBVM6v pic.twitter.com/yF6UKoYoZt
— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) January 1, 2017
A Star Tribune report says play was not interrupted and the banners included the U.S. Bank logo and the phrase “Divest #NoDAPL.” As the protest received widespread attention in the middle of an NFL game, media outlets reportedly began receiving statements saying, “We are here in solidarity with water protectors from Standing Rock to urge U.S. Bank to divest from the Dakota Access Pipeline.”
Officials at U.S. Bank Stadium have released the following statement on the incident:
Statement from the folks that run US Bank Stadium. Nice explanation how they got in with equipment. pic.twitter.com/SFGyw12Mds
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) January 1, 2017
We will update this breaking story as more information is available.
[image via screengrab]
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
