Two city-owned liquor stores in St. Anthony close before Castile protest

ST. ANTHONY, Minn. (KMSP) - Two St. Anthony liquor stores closed early on Saturday in anticipation of a planned protest of the Philando Castile shooting.

Protesters planned to "shut down" two city-owned liquor stores, according to the "No Justice, No Profits! Justice for Philando Castile" Facebook event page. Protesters say the profits from these stores are used to pay the city's police officers.  Castile was fatally shot by a St. Anthony officer earlier this month during a traffic stop.

Fox 9 took a look at the numbers and found that about $250,000 in profit from the stores is being used in this year's city budget to support other operations. The city's general fund budget is around $6 million.

Members of Twin Cities Industrial Workers of the World General Defense Committee Local 14 are organizing the protest. A variety of groups, including Black Lives Matter St. Paul endorsed the event.