5 arrested in All-Star protest at baseball meeting

Published 11:34 am Thursday, August 12, 2010

Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS  — Police arrested five protesters outside the quarterly meeting of Major League baseball team owners in Minneapolis.

They were among 100 people who gathered outside a downtown hotel Wednesday, trying to deliver petitions to Commissioner Bud Selig to move the 2011 All-Star game out of Arizona because of that state’s new law cracking down on illegal immigrants. They say an event that could pump $60 million into Arizona’s economy belongs elsewhere.

Police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer said Thursday the five were booked into the Hennepin County Jail for trespassing after they refused to leave.

Numerous groups have asked baseball to move the All-Star game from Arizona because of the law, and several Latino players have said they might refuse to participate if the game is played in Phoenix.