MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO / AP) – Law enforcers used a chemical spray to disperse a crowd that created a disturbance at the main gate of the Minnesota State Fair as it was ends, said the sheriff’s officials.
A man who was part of the disturbance Monday night had a gun, according to Ramsey County Sheriff’s spokesman Roy Magnuson. There was nothing to suggest that the man fired it.
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A Ramsey County judge recently rejected a request from a gun owners’ group for a temporary injunction requiring State Fair officials to allow holders to carry their weapons at the fairgrounds.
A large group of people tried to push through the main gates of the fair just after 8pm on Monday, Magnuson said. Fairgoers trying to leave the grounds were temporarily prevented from doing so.
Fair security personnel and sheriff’s deputies sprayed a chemical similar to mace to disperse the crowd, according to Magnuson.
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Authorities did not say how large the amount was, whether there were arrests or injuries, or what led to the disturbance.
Before the Minnesota State Fair started, more than 150 vendors, exhibitors, and musical acts dropped out.
Attendance had also dropped. During the first 11 days, turnout fell by about 40% from 2019. Food suppliers say it has probably contributed to lower revenue.
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