Framed by towering Christmas trees aglow in white lights, scores of protesters stood with their hands in the air in the Mall of America’s rotunda Saturday afternoon, disrupting last-minute holiday shopping and temporarily closing a portion of the mall as they rallied to call attention to police brutality against African-Americans.

A giant screen loomed between the trees, alerting the roughly 1,500 protesters of the potential consequences they faced for demonstrating on the private property.

“This is a final warning,” the message said. “This demonstration is in clear violation of Mall of America policy. All participants must disperse immediately. Those who continue to demonstrate are subject to arrest.”

By the end of the protest, about 25 people had been arrested for various offenses, according to Bloomington police Cmdr. Mark Stehlik. He said he was not aware of any injuries or incidents of violence or theft that took place during the event.

After repeatedly warning protesters not to gather at the mall in the days leading up to the protest, police, a mall official and disgruntled shoppers expressed frustration and “disappointment” about the demonstration. Organizers and participants, on the other hand, said it was a necessary inconvenience to call attention to a critical issue.

“Our system disproportionately targets, profiles and kills black men and women, that’s what we are here talking about,” said Michael McDowell of Black Lives Matter, the group that organized the protest.

He cited the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York as recent examples of police brutality that he said is also happening in the Twin Cities.

“It’s not just Ferguson or New York,” McDowell said. “It happens right here in Minneapolis; we have our own Michael Browns and Eric Garners. We did this because corporations have a role in this, too.

“We wanted to show people who have the everyday luxury of just living their lives that they need to be aware of this, too.”

The protest began at 2 p.m. McDowell said protesters were able to actively demonstrate for about a half-hour inside the mall’s rotunda. The space was roped off and lined with police officers dressed in riot gear as men and women of varying skin colors and ages chanted messages such as, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” and, “Black people cannot breathe while you’re on your shopping spree.”

Police dispersed the crowd about 2:30 p.m. Many reassembled on the second floor and began marching in front of stores, chanting protests and clapping their hands.

Cries of “No justice, no peace, prosecute the police,” “Who do you serve,” and “Black lives matter,” reverberated around the eastern wing as shoppers and spectators looked on, many attempting to document the display on cellphones.

It was difficult to assess how inconvenienced other areas of the mall were by the gathering.

On a few occasions, shoppers yelled back. One man told protesters to “put their hands down.” Another yelled, “You don’t have any legal right to be here.”

Over the course of the protest, the mall closed stores on its east side and disabled elevators and escalators as police in riot gear tried to move demonstrators toward exits.

As late as 4:30 p.m., some storefronts remained shuttered and portions of the mall were closed to pedestrian traffic.

The mall released a statement about 6 p.m., saying that business had returned to normal but that the hours-long disruption had been “extremely” disappointing.

“We are extremely disappointed that organizers of (the) Black Lives Matter protest chose to ignore our stated policy and repeated reminders that political protests and demonstrations are not allowed on Mall of America property,” the statement read. “It’s clear from their actions that these political activists were more concerned about making a political statement and creating a media event than they were about the safety of others, who came to Mall of America for an afternoon of shopping and family entertainment.”

Several shoppers described the protest as an unnecessary hassle.

Others said it was an important exercise in free speech.

“It gives people an opportunity to speak their opinion about the police and the brutality,” said Franklin Johnson, 21, of the Twin Cities area. Johnson was shopping with a friend when he saw the crowd of protesters begin to gather.

University of Minnesota student Alex Beversdorf, 19, was trying to pick up custom hats she had ordered as holiday gifts.

“I get why they’re doing it, but I’m just kind of annoyed,” she said while standing outside a mall entrance, after she had been forced out of the building with the crowd.

Roberta and Jason Houle of Savage agreed, saying the event had left their son trapped inside Barnes & Nobles for more than 45 minutes as the protest got underway.

Staying away didn’t feel like an option for Kamirah Green, 15, of Minneapolis, who said she made it a point to show up for the protest with her older sister.

“This matters to me. I’m African-American; my younger brother and his friends … their lives are in danger if cops are allowed to kill kids … especially with Tamir Rice. My brother’s 12; man, if a cop can shoot someone as young as my brother for holding a toy gun, that’s scary, man. I had to be out here. This matters to me,” Green said.

McDowell said that the interaction between police and protesters remained mostly cooperative throughout the demonstration but that officers got “pushy” and were unnecessarily “barking orders” toward the end.

“It was also very intimidating that they showed up in riot gear,” he said.

Sarah Horner can be reached at shorner@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5539. Follow her at twitter.com/hornsarah.