Holding signs including a large one saying "MN State Ain't Fair", protesters calling their group "Injustice On a Stick," representing Black Saint Paul and nine other groups march on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul on their way to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Sunday, September 3, 2017. Police shut down Snelling Avenue traffic around the marchers, disrupting travel to the fair. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)

Sam Sanchez holds a sign remembering Jamar Clark,as protesters calling their group "Injustice On a Stick," representing Black Saint Paul and nine other groups gather in Hamline Park to listen to speakers before marching down Snelling Avenue in St. Paul on their way to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Sunday, September 3, 2017. Police shut down Snelling Avenue traffic around the marchers, disrupting travel to the fair. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)

"Injustice on a Stick" protesters representing Black Saint Paul and nine other groups march on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul on their way to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Sunday, September 3, 2017. Police shut down Snelling Avenue traffic around the marchers, disrupting travel to the fair. (Kristi Belcamino / Pioneer Press)

Police shut down traffic on Snelling Avenue as protesters calling their group "Injustice On a Stick," march towards the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Sunday, September 3, 2017. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)

Thao Pao Xiong rides a bicycle as part of an "Injustice on a Stick" protest representing Black Saint Paul and nine other groups on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul Sunday, September 3, 2017. Police shut down Snelling Avenue traffic around the marchers, disrupting travel to the fair. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)



"Injustice on a Stick" protesters representing Black Saint Paul and nine other groups march on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul on their way to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Sunday, September 3, 2017. Police shut down Snelling Avenue traffic around the marchers, disrupting travel to the fair. (Kristi Belcamino / Pioneer Press)

"Injustice on a Stick" protesters representing Black Saint Paul and nine other groups march on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul on their way to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Sunday, September 3, 2017. Police shut down Snelling Avenue traffic around the marchers, disrupting travel to the fair. (Kristi Belcamino / Pioneer Press)

"Injustice on a Stick" protesters representing Black Saint Paul and nine other groups march on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul on their way to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Sunday, September 3, 2017. Police shut down Snelling Avenue traffic around the marchers, disrupting travel to the fair. (Kristi Belcamino / Pioneer Press)

A protest against police violence led to the main entrance at the Minnnesota State Fair closing for about 30 minutes on Sunday.

A rally at Hamline Park, dubbed “Injustice on a Stick,” began with about 100 people gathered to remember those killed or injured during police encounters.

The group, made up of individuals from several organizations, shut down portions of Snelling Avenue as they marched to the Fair’s main entrance at Snelling and Midway Parkway. Metro Transit buses were rerouted to avoid the blocked street.

Sunday marked the third year protesters have targeted the Fair to shed light on officer-involved incidents. This year, protesters also decried recent white supremacist activity and a possible end to the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals program, which President Donald Trump has talked about eliminating.

“Every year is another year people are killed or murdered by Minneapolis police,” said Sam Sanchez of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, named for Jamar Clark, who died from a gunshot wound after an encounter with Minneapolis police in 2015. “The State Fair is a good time to draw attention to the people we have lost and to say enough is enough. … We need to stop doing Band-Aids. … The police department needs a complete overhaul.”

Sanchez said his group will soon ask the city of Minneapolis to form an oversight group he calls the “Minneapolis Police Accountability Council,” comprised of elected civilians.

Plans are for the group to take on tasks such as appointing the police chief, investigating police misconduct and shootings and revamping police guidelines in areas such as use of force and general orders.

Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul Police Department spokesman, said about five different law enforcement agencies sent officers to work the event, adding that no arrests were made.

“We worked hard to make sure everyone was safe — protesters, passersby and anyone on their way to the Fair,” Ernster said.

Minnesota boasts about having one of the country’s best state fairs, said rally emcee Monique Cullars-Doty. Because of that reputation, the Fair is a good place to get a message out, she said.

Cullars-Doty is the aunt of Marcus Golden, who was fatally shot by St. Paul police in January 2015.

Several protesters held signs depicting headstones with the names of individuals killed in officer-involved incidents.

“It’s not pleasant,” Cullars-Doty said, “but we have to remember their names and support their families and lift them up.”

Matilda Smith, the mother of Jaffort Smith, who was fatally shot by St. Paul police last year, said that her family is still trying to find answers about her son’s death and that the autopsy report created more questions than it answered.

“I thank the medical examiner’s office for printing it as it happened; it gave me an idea of what really happened to my son,” she said. “There is institutional racism at the foundation of our justice system, and it’s showing and it is boiling over.”

Smith was one of the speakers at the rally prior to the march.

Organizations taking part in the march included Black Saint Paul, Blue LIES Matter, La Asamblea De Derechos Civiles, The New North, Black Lives Matter Minnesota, Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, Native Lives Matter, Anti-War Committee, Communities United Against Police Brutality and the Welfare Rights Committee.

#InjusticeOnAStick protesters are blocking traffic at Snelling and Midway Parkway. One observer said a little inconvenience is no big thing. pic.twitter.com/s58ybWQYZZ — Doualy Xaykaothao (@DoualyX) September 3, 2017

Protest speaker outside state fairgrounds entrance: "America was never great." pic.twitter.com/eG0oZuSPmZ — Ivory Hecker FOX 26 (@IvoryHecker) September 3, 2017