St. Paul's Hit Squad gang and eight of its members have been barred from attending this weekend's Cinco de Mayo festival on the city's West Side, according to judge's order Friday.
At the request of the St. Paul city attorney's office, Ramsey County District Judge Robert Awsumb issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting members of the gang from gathering as a gang, or identifying themselves as a gang, or participating in any gang-related activities during the festival.
The city had argued in court documents that the gang, which originated on the city's West Side around 2010, "is a violent criminal street gang with a substantial and growing presence in St. Paul."
It also argued that the gang has targeted members from rival gangs and the general public, and has been tied to attempted murder, drive-by shootings, assaults and robberies.
The injunction prohibits the Hit Squad gang members from exhibiting gang activity in the festival's "Safety Zone,'' an area between Plato Boulevard and Sidney Street E., and from roughly the Lafayette Road area and to the west.
St. Paul has used injunctions in the past as a tool to prevent violence at public celebrations, including previous Cinco de Mayo and Rondo Days festivities.
