BLOOMINGTON — The Bloomington city attorney is considering charging the organizers of a protest that forced some stores at the Mall of America to shut down for about two hours. 

City Attorney Sandra Johnson said mall officials are figuring out how much money stores lost Saturday. Johnson is also figuring out the cost of overtime for police.

She says she wants organizers of the police brutality protest to pay restitution. She’s focusing on those who kept promoting the rally after they were told it was prohibited on private property.

Lena Gardner of “Black Lives Matter” says financial losses aren’t protesters’ fault. She said police closed the stores, not the protesters, and the mall should’ve welcomed their message like they’ve done with other groups who’ve used the rotunda to raise awareness.

Organizers estimated about 3,000 people participated in the event.

During Saturday’s rally, protesters in the mall’s rotunda shouted “While you’re on your shopping spree, black people cannot breathe” — a reference to the chokehold a New York City police officer placed on Eric Garner, who died. As they dispersed, they walked down the hall with their arms raised, shouting “Hands up, don’t shoot!”