Black Lives Matter protesters shut down Bernie Sanders speech

Bernie Sanders
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Two Black Lives Matter protesters took the stage as Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was beginning a speech to thousands Saturday afternoon in Seattle.

The activists called for 4.5 minutes of silence to represent the 4.5 hours Michael Brown's body was left in the street after he was shot by a cop in Ferguson, Missouri, one year ago. Refusing to let Sanders speak, they then confronted him about their concerns over police brutality, The Seattle Times reports.

"On criminal justice reform and the need to fight racism, there is no other candidate for president who will fight harder than me," Sanders said in a written statement, where he also expressed disappointment in the interruption.

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At a more successful nighttime rally in Seattle, Sanders spoke to a crowd of 15,000. In July, Sanders' talk at Netroots Nation in Phoenix was also interrupted by criminal justice reform advocates.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.