MINNEAPOLIS – Attorneys for three men accused in a shooting that wounded five black men demonstrating outside a Minneapolis police precinct are denying their clients are racist and downplaying evidence.
A fourth man accused of firing the shots Nov. 23, Allen Scarsella, didn't speak at Tuesday's court appearance.
The precinct has been the site of protests since 24-year-old Jamar Clark died Nov. 15 in a confrontation with police.
A criminal complaint says the shooting happened after some protesters tried to get the men to leave. Activists and court papers accuse the men of trying to disrupt the protest for racial reasons.
Attorneys for two men, Daniel Macey and Joseph Backmann, said their clients aren't white supremacists. An attorney for a third man, Nathan Gustavsson, says there's no proof his client had a gun.
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