George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul
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protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
s over the
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
of George Floyd (sometimes called the Minneapolis riots or Minneapolis uprising) began on May 26, 2020, and quickly inspired a global protest movement against
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
and
racial inequality Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...
. The initial events were a reaction to a video filmed the day before and circulated widely in the media of police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds while Floyd struggled to breathe, begged for help, lost consciousness, and died. Public outrage over the content of the video gave way to widespread
civil disorder Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty ...
in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, and other cities in the
Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...
metropolitan area in the five-day period of May 26 to 30 after Floyd's murder. Minneapolis sustained extraordinary damage from rioting and looting in the resulting chaos—largely concentrated on a stretch of Lake Street south of downtown—including the demise of the city's third police precinct building, which was overrun by demonstrators and set on fire. At cost of $350 million, approximately 1,300 properties in Minneapolis were damaged by the civil unrest, of which nearly 100 were entirely destroyed. Saint Paul suffered damages that totaled $82 million and affected 330 buildings, including 37 properties that were heavily damaged or destroyed, with most property destruction occurring along the
University Avenue A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
business corridor. The
ATF The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...
tracked 164 structure fires due to arson in the Twin Cities region during the riots. Governor
Tim Walz Timothy James Walz ( ; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician and retired educator. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. Born in West Point, Nebraska, Wal ...
activated the
Minnesota National Guard The Minnesota National Guard is a state-based military force of more than 13,000 soldiers and airmen, serving in 61 communities across the state. Operated in the U.S. state of Minnesota, it is reserve component of the National Guard. The Cons ...
in response to civil unrest. The 7,123 troops pressed into duty represented the largest deployment of the state's forces since
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. By early June 2020, violence in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area had resulted in at least two deaths, 604 arrests, and upwards of $500 million in damage to approximately 1,500 properties, the second-most destructive period of local unrest in United States history, after the
1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
. Violent protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul over the murder of George Floyd largely subsided after May 30, 2020. The Minnesota National Guard and a multi-jurisdiction government command that responded to the riots demobilized on June 7, 2020. Local protests and unrest over Floyd's murder continued in 20202022 and broadened to other issues of racial injustice.


Background


Murder of George Floyd

George Floyd was an unarmed
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
man who died while he was being detained by police in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
on May 25, 2020, shortly after 8:00 p.m. CDT, near the Cup Foods grocery store at the intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, while other officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao assisted with the arrest and held concerned onlookers back.
video @ YouTube
)
Floyd could be heard repeatedly on a bystander's video saying: "I can't breathe", "Please", and "Mama". He appeared unconscious at the scene, and was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m. after being transported by an ambulance to the
Hennepin County Medical Center Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is a Level I adult and pediatric trauma center and safety net hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the county seat of Hennepin County. The primary 484-bed facility is on six city blocks across the street from ...
emergency room.


Racial disparities in Minnesota

By the beginning of the 21st century, Minneapolis was home to some of the largest racial disparities in the United States. The city's population of people of color and Indigenous people fared worse than the city's white population for many measures of well-being, such as health outcomes, academic achievement, income, and home ownership. The result of discriminatory policies and racism over the course of the city's history, racial disparity was described by author Tom Webber in ''Minneapolis: An Urban Biography'' as the most significant issue facing Minneapolis in the first decades of the 2000s. By 2015, homeownership rates in the Twin Cities were 75 percent for white families, but only 23 percent for black families, one of the largest disparities in the nation. By 2018, unemployment for blacks in Minnesota had reached a historic low of 6.9 percent, but it was still three times higher than the rate for whites. Though black residents made up just 6 percent of Minnesota's population, they were nearly 37 percent of the state's prison population in 2016. By the 2020s, generations of the city's black residents had been unable to experience the same levels of comforts and asset accumulation as the white residents. ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' said that years of disinvestment and abandonment of the area around Lake Street in Minneapolis and city officials ignoring the needs of the community's black residents were some of the conditions that led to civil disorder in Minneapolis.


Prior killings by law enforcement

George Floyd's murder was viewed by some residents as another instance of police violence in Minneapolis, where 11 people were killed by police officers between 2010 and 2020, including Floyd. In 2015, the
killing of Jamar Clark On November 15, 2015, two police officers fatally shot Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old African-American man, in Minneapolis. The two shooters were Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze. They were a part of the Minneapolis Police Department which subs ...
, a black man, by a Minneapolis police officer led to controversy and protests; it was later determined by prosecutors that the officers had acted in self defense and no charges were filed. In 2016, the
killing of Philando Castile On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African-American man, was fatally shot during a traffic stop by police officer Jeronimo Yanez of the St. Anthony police department in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Castile was ...
, a black man, in nearby Falcon Heights resulted in several weeks of protests and unrest; the resulting criminal case ended with a jury acquittal for the involved officer after a 10-month process. In 2017, the
killing of Justine Damond On July 15, 2017, Justine Damond ( née Ruszczyk), a 40-year-old Australian-American woman,- was fatally shot by 33-year-old Somali-American Minneapolis Police Department officer Mohamed Noor after she had called 9-1-1 to report the possible ...
, a white woman, led to a 12-year prison sentence for the police officer, a black man, who shot her. In instances where Minneapolis police officers attempted to justify the aggressive use of force against residents, a pattern emerged in which the police department would release officer statements that were later contradicted by video and other evidence, as revealed by several civil rights and wrongful death lawsuits. Some felt that the judicial system was inconsistent in that it did not hold white police officers who killed black men accountable for their actions; the video of Floyd begging for relief while being pinned by Chauvin generated further concern and anger from both white and black residents in the city.Bunn, Curtis and Charles, Nick (30 May 2020)
"Black men in Minneapolis outraged over Floyd killing, distrustful of judicial system"
''
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''. Retrieved on 7 July 2020.
Floyd's murder was also the third in a string of widely reported and highly publicized incidents in which unarmed black Americans were killed in 2020, including
Ahmaud Arbery On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was murdered during a racially motivated hate crime while jogging in Satilla Shores, a neighborhood near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia.
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
on February 23 and
Breonna Taylor Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13, 2020, when at least seven police officers forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing op ...
in
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
on March 13. It was unclear if demonstrators were angered only by the graphic video of Floyd's murder or by the culmination of recent incidents in the United States.


Distrust of Minneapolis police

By 2020, the relationship between the
Minneapolis Police Department The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is also the largest police department in Minnesota. Formed in 1867, it is the second-oldest police department in Minnesot ...
and the community, particularly the city's black residents, had deteriorated significantly. Several killings of residents by police officers and alleged displays of racial insensitivity by police leaders contributed to the tension. In the city's Powderhorn Park neighborhood, where Floyd was murdered, some argued there had been a persisting distrust between the police and black community. The head of the police union representing Minneapolis officers, Bob Kroll, was a continuing source of controversy, having called Black Lives Matter a "terrorist organization" in 2016 after the officers involved in Clark's death were cleared of wrongdoing. His appearance at a political rally for
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's presidential campaign in 2019 generated controversy when Kroll said that Trump would "let cops do their job, put the handcuffs on the criminals instead of nus". Controversy had also erupted when police officers put up a "
ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
"
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...
at the fourth police precinct station in 2018. The police department had a history of not holding officers accountable for complaints and disciplinary actions. Of the 80 officers fired for misconduct in the 20 years prior to the murder of Floyd, half were able to be reinstated. As a police officer with the department, Chauvin had received 17 complaints, but only faced discipline once.


Initial events


Tuesday, May 26, 2020


Initial reactions to Floyd's murder

At 12:41 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, Minneapolis police released a statement about the arrest and murder of Floyd several hours prior. They said that a suspected money forger had "physically resisted" arrest and suffered "medical distress" after being handcuffed by officers, leading to his death. The statement made no mention that Floyd was unarmed or that Chauvin had kneeled on his neck for over nine minutes. At about the same time the police released their initial statement, Darnella Frazier, a bystander at the scene of Floyd's murder, uploaded a 10-minute video of the incident to
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and
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. The graphic video captured Floydwhile laying face down, handcuffed, and pinned by Chauvin's kneesaying he couldn't breathe and begging for his life as he lost consciousness. The video quickly went viral. Official reaction came early in the morning. By 3:11 a.m. the police department said that
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) would join local officials in the investigation of the incident. Minneapolis Mayor
Jacob Frey Jacob Lawrence Frey ( ; born July 23, 1981) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota since 2018. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he served on the Minneapolis City C ...
held a 6:45 a.m. press conference, and said in reaction to the bystander video he had seen, "What we saw was horrible. Completely and utterly messed up." By mid-morning several public officials released statements condemning what they viewed in the bystander's video. Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said it was "vile and heartbreaking" and all of the officers present at the scene of Floyd's arrest should be held accountable.
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called for an independent investigation.
Minnesota Governor The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...
Tim Walz Timothy James Walz ( ; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician and retired educator. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. Born in West Point, Nebraska, Wal ...
promised, "We will get answers and seek justice." The four officers at the scene of Floyd's murder were placed on paid administrative leave, a standard protocol, pending further investigation. The Minneapolis police department's initial statement that mis-characterized the circumstances of Floyd's death, which may have been intended to defuse tension, was perceived as being radically different than what was recorded on bystander videos and it fueled public outrage.


Organized protests emerge

By late morning on May 26, a makeshift memorial had been set up in Minneapolis outside the Cup Food store at East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, the street intersection where Floyd was murdered the day prior. The first organized protests emerged at the same location by midday. Some of the gathered protesters chanted, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe", words repeated multiple times by Floyd in the viral video. Many people carried homemade signs that read, "
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
," "Stop Killing Black People," and "
I Can't Breathe "I can't breathe" is a slogan associated with the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The phrase originates from the last words of Eric Garner, an unarmed man who was killed in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by a New York C ...
." By the afternoon, as more details about the May 25 incident between Floyd and the police were known, thousands more rallied at the street intersection, and organizers emphasized keeping the gathering peaceful. Police estimated the size of the crowd at approximately 8,000 people.


Police officers fired

Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief
Medaria Arradondo Medaria Arradondo is an American law enforcement official who served as the Chief of the Minneapolis Police Department from 2017 until 2022. He was the first black chief of the Minneapolis Police Department. Career A fifth-generation Minnesot ...
held an afternoon press conference on May 26 to express solidarity with the community's growing sense of anger about the arrest incident. Frey called for charges to be filed against the involved officers who killed Floyd, and said, "Whatever the investigation reveals, it does not change the simple truth that he should be with us this morning." Arradondo added, "Being Black in America should not be a death sentence." In an unprecedented move in Minneapolis for swiftness, Arradondo fired the four officers who had been present at the scene of Floyd's arrest and murder, a move supported by Frey. Protesters and Floyd's family called for murder charges for all four officers involved and swift judicial consequences, as the
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is a statewide criminal investigative bureau under the Minnesota Department of Public Safety that provides expert forensic science and criminal investigation services throughout the state of ...
also opened an investigation of the incident. Bob Kroll, president of the Minneapolis police officer's union, said the firing of the officers occurred without due process and offered "full support of the officers" during the investigations.
Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapol ...
Attorney Michael O. Freeman, the official responsible for bringing criminal charges against the police officers, promised an expedited review of the case.


Protests intensify into rioting

The tone of protests, which were peaceful initially, shifted the afternoon of May 26. State officials began monitoring the events as protests began to escalate at East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. By evening, the protest rally at the location of Floyd's murder became a , peaceful march to the
Minneapolis Police Department The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is also the largest police department in Minnesota. Formed in 1867, it is the second-oldest police department in Minnesot ...
's third precinct police station where the four involved officers worked. The Minnesota State Patrol began activating its Mobile Field Force, but it staged its officers in the nearby suburb of Richfield as the Minneapolis police declined assistance. At the Minneapolis police third precinct station on Minnehaha Avenue, protesters rallied peacefully with megaphones and signs on the steps at the building's entrance. The main protest group disbanded later in the evening. A smaller group that broke away from the main protest breached the fence of the station parking lot, climbed on the building, painted graffiti, threw rocks and bottles at officers, broke a window of the building, and broke a window of an unoccupied
police car A police car (also called a police cruiser, police interceptor, patrol car, area car, cop car, prowl car, squad car, radio car, or radio motor patrol) is a ground vehicle used by police and law enforcement for transportation during patrols a ...
. Some protesters tried to stop the vandalism, with a scuffle breaking out in the crowd. Recently elected city council member Jeremiah Ellison, who had participated in prior protests against the police after the killing of black men, advised the mayor to not interfere with those vandalizing police property, hoping to spare the surrounding neighborhood from further damage. Police Chief Arradondo eventually ordered forces to respond, and police officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets to push demonstrators back, even though there were protesters who were not being violent. He later told reporters that he made the decision to fire upon the crowd because some officers kept weapons in their vehicles that could be taken. In response to being fired upon, demonstrators threw rocks, water bottles, and miscellaneous objects towards the officers. The unruly crowd clashing with the police numbered in the hundreds, a noted contrast from the larger, peaceful group gathered earlier in the day, who were estimated to number in the thousands. Many protesters viewed the police response to the vandalism as an overreaction that only made the crowd angrier. Late at night on May 26, Minnesota State Patrol officers were deployed to the third precinct station building and to the home of Derek Chauvin in
Oakdale, Minnesota Oakdale is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. It is a suburb of Saint Paul and is on the eastern side of the Twin Cities Metropolitan area. The population was 27,378 at the 2010 census. Oakdale is the 32nd largest city in M ...
, where another large crowd had gathered.


Wednesday, May 27, 2020


Peaceful protests resume

Protests in Minneapolis resumed Wednesday, May 27 at several locations throughout the city. At the location of Floyd's murder, protesters were led through prayer and a series of chants. By late morning, a group of protesters blocked the nearby intersection as they repeated, "
Whose streets? ''Whose Streets?'' is a 2017 American documentary film about the killing of Michael Brown and the Ferguson uprising. Directed by Sabaah Folayan and co-directed by Damon Davis, ''Whose Streets?'' premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film F ...
Our streets." Some protesters left memorials by the Cup Foods store, while some spray painted the words "Justice for Floyd" and "
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
" on the street surface. No police were present and the scene was described as peaceful. A protest occurred outside the Minneapolis home of
Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapol ...
Attorney Michael O. Freeman, the local official with jurisdiction to bring forth criminal charges against the police officers at the scene of Floyd's arrest and murder. Throughout the day state and local officials discussed the possibility of deploying more state patrols and National Guard troops, but anticipated it would not be needed until Saturday, May 30 when larger protests were planned. However, state officials were unsure if Minneapolis city officials had a plan in place to deal with the civil unrest.


Looting and arson begin

A crowd of about 1,000 people converged outside the Minneapolis third police precinct station at the intersection of East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue on May 27. By 6:15 p.m., skirmishes had broken out in the crowd as demonstrators had begun throwing objects at the police station and officers fired chemical irritants to push them back. By 6:25 p.m. police received reports of looting as another crowd of people began ransacking a
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
store a short distance away from the protest. At 6:32 p.m., at an
AutoZone AutoZone, Inc. is an American retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, the largest in the United States. Founded in 1979, AutoZone has over 6,400 stores across the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil and the US Virgin Is ...
store located across the intersection from the third police precinct station, a masked man carrying an umbrella and a
sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...
was recorded on video breaking windows and spray-painting graffiti which encouraged looting. Some protesters confronted the masked man and asked him to stop. In a warrant filed after the riots to investigate the mysterious "Umbrella Man", police said he was a member of the
Aryan Brotherhood The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as the Brand or the AB, is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate which is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Southern P ...
, that the abrupt attack at AutoZone came during a mostly calm demonstration at the street intersection of the third police precinct station, and that the man intended to incite violence. Looting soon spread to several other businesses near the main protest site. Later in the evening on May 27, the same AutoZone store became the first building to be set on fire during the unrest. Some protesters attempted to put out the AutoZone fire, while others celebrated and took
selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such as ...
s. Another fire was started inside a nearby Cub Foods grocery store. By 9:24 p.m., Minneapolis police had run out of chemical irritants and Minnesota State Patrol officers abandoned attempts to stop the looting.


Fatal shooting of Calvin Horton Jr. and other violence

Violence escalated at nightfall on May 27. At about 9:49 p.m., from the main protest site near the city's third police precinct building, Calvin Horton Jr., a 43-year-old man from Minneapolis, was fatally shot by the owner of the Cadillac Pawn & Jewelry shop who believed he was burglarizing his business. Including Horton, five people were struck by gunfire in Minneapolis that night, but he was the only reported fatality.


Local officials react and plan

Frey made an emotional plea just before midnight on May 27, saying, "Please, please, Minneapolis. We cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy. The activity around Lake and
Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwathaaa or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some account ...
is now unsafe. Please, help us keep the peace. ..." Frey also reached out to Minnesota Governor
Tim Walz Timothy James Walz ( ; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician and retired educator. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. Born in West Point, Nebraska, Wal ...
that night and requested the help of the
Minnesota National Guard The Minnesota National Guard is a state-based military force of more than 13,000 soldiers and airmen, serving in 61 communities across the state. Operated in the U.S. state of Minnesota, it is reserve component of the National Guard. The Cons ...
, but the city government was reportedly unaware of the timeline and logistics of troop deployment, and relegated tactical coordination to the police force. However, knowing that it would take some time for the National Guard to mobilize, Frey and city leaders began discussing ways to deescalate the situation with demonstrators.
Minneapolis City Council The Minneapolis City Council is the lawmaking body of Minneapolis. It consists of 13 members, elected from separate wards to four-year terms, via a ranked-choice method. The council structure has been in place since the 1950s. In recent elections ...
member
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...
, who represented the area by the third police precinct station, blamed the police for the unfolding destruction, saying "It looked like they were defending the Alamo and letting the community burn", in reference to the police presence and tactics at the police station building. Council member Jeremiah Ellison said in a media interview that night that the police should "sacrifice" the station, while council member Linea Palmisano expressed privately to a city official about Ellison's remarks that such a move would result in "ultimate chaos".


Destruction spreads overnight

Looting and property destruction were widespread in Minneapolis overnight from May 27 to May 28 with the heaviest destruction occurring in the vicinity of the third precinct police station near Minnehaha Avenue and East Lake Street. Looting, which first began at a Target store in the Minnehaha Center shopping district, spread to a nearby
Cub Foods Cub is an American supermarket chain. It operates stores in Minnesota and Illinois. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of SuperValu Inc., based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. History Beginnings Cub Foods was founded by Minnesota-based Hool ...
grocery store, and then to several liquor stores, pharmacies, and other businesses across the city. The fire at the AutoZone store that was damaged earlier in the evening led to a series of other acts of arson. Among the losses to fire was Midtown Corner, an under-construction, $30 million redevelopment project for 189 units of
affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...
, which was destroyed by fire after being torched. Across the street from the apartment building, the manufacturing facility for 7-Sigma, a local high-tech company, also suffered extensive fire damage and part of the factory building collapsed. The response from firefighters in the area was delayed as crews required police escorts for protection from rioters. The Minneapolis fire department responded to approximately 30 fires overnight. Overnight in the suburban City of
Brooklyn Center Brooklyn Center is a first-ring suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. In 1911, the area became a village formed from parts of Brooklyn Township and Crystal Lake Township. I ...
, looters broke into several stores at the Shingle Creek Crossing shopping center. At about 1:00 am on May 28, a local police contingent amassed in the area to scatter vehicles that were circling the area, and police officers made three arrests.


Thursday, May 28, 2020


Government mobilization

At a press conference on May 28, Chief Arradondo remarked that, in his view, the majority of protests the previous day were peaceful, but were "hijacked" by some who were looting and vandalizing businesses. Minneapolis city officials hoped that the worst violence had already passed. To quell riotous behavior, Mayor Frey declared a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
to allow for more flexibility in the city's response. Frey and Arradondo also began quietly preparing for the contingency of surrendering the third precinct station in Minneapolis if violence escalated. Few people knew of the plan outside of some officers stationed there and nearby business owners who had heard rumors and noticed the station's parking lot being emptied of police squad cars and equipment. Businesses throughout the Twin Cities spent the day boarding up windows and doors to prevent looting. Among them, the
Target Corporation Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compon ...
announced closures for all of its area stores. Saint Paul police officers armed with batons and gas masks patrolled the city's busiest commercial corridor and kept looters out of a Target store near University Avenue while other business windows were smashed. Minneapolis preemptively shut down its light-rail system and bus service through Sunday, May 31 out of safety concerns. Officials pleaded with metro area residents to stay home Thursday night to prevent further property destruction. African American Saint Paul mayor Melvin Carter said, "Please stay home. Please do not come here to protest. Please keep the focus on George Floyd, on advancing our movement and on preventing this from ever happening again." At 4 p.m. CDT, Governor Walz formally activated 500 National Guard troops and deployed them to the Twin Cities area, at the request of city leaders. Walz commented, "George Floyd's death should lead to justice and systemic change, not more death and destruction." Lieutenant Governor
Peggy Flanagan Peggy Flanagan (born September 22, 1979) is an American Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Democratic political organizer, activist, and politician serving as the 50th lieutenant governor of Minnesota. Flanagan has been involved in various ...
added, "the demonstration last night became incredibly unsafe for all involved. The purpose of the National Guard is to protect people, to protect people safely demonstrating, and to protect small business owners." Walz also said it would take guard troops a few days to fully mobilize.


Delay of officer criminal charges

State and federal prosecutors called a press conference in the late afternoon at a regional FBI office in
Brooklyn Center Brooklyn Center is a first-ring suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. In 1911, the area became a village formed from parts of Brooklyn Township and Crystal Lake Township. I ...
, a Minneapolis suburb. It was anticipated that there they might reveal a major development in the case against the officers who were at the scene of Floyd's murder. After a long delay, however, Hennepin County Attorney Michael O. Freeman announced that his office needed more time to investigate and that there was other evidence that might result in no criminal charges being filed. In responding to the anticipation created by the media briefing and its two-hour delayed start,
U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
Erica MacDonald said, "I thought we would have another development to talk to you about, but we don't". Weeks later, on June 9, 2020, it was revealed that state and federal prosecutors — on the afternoon of the delayed press conference — had been trying to negotiate a plea deal with former officer Derek Chauvin that would have included state murder charges and federal civil rights charges. It was later reported that Chauvin believed that the case against him was so devastating that he agreed to plead guilty to third-degree murder. As part of the deal, he was willing to go to prison for more than 10 years. The deal fell apart shortly before it was going to be announced after
William Barr William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump. Born and raised in New York City, Barr ...
, the
U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
, rejected the arrangement fearing that it would be viewed as too lenient by protestors. The deal was contingent on the federal government's approval because Chauvin, who had asked to serve his time in a
federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...
, wanted assurance he would not face federal civil rights charges. Details about the potential plea agreement were not publicly known during the initial period of unrest.


Transition from peaceful protests to destructive riots

Thousands of people marched peacefully in the streets of Minneapolis and called for justice for George Floyd during the day on May 28. Sporadic looting was reported in the afternoon in Saint Paul's Midway neighborhood. A crowd of about at thousand people rallied in the early evening at the
Hennepin County Government Center Hennepin County Government Center is the courthouse and primary county government administration building for Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in downtown Minneapolis, the county seat of Hennepin County. Before its c ...
building in Minneapolis, and then marched through the city's downtown area where store fronts had been boarded up and the state patrol maintained a heavy presenceno violence was reported from the march. Hundreds of demonstrators returned to the area near the third precinct police station, where Frey and Arradondo had deliberately reduced the street presence of the police. By the evening, police reports said the crowd was "engaged in peaceful activity" as some were said to be grilling, listening to music, and socializing. It was not until after sunset that the crowd grew more restless, when looting of a nearby Target store resumed and a vehicle and building were set on fire. Multiple large, mobile crowds and chaos were reported across the city by nightfall. A crowd of 1,500 protesters were marching through a downtown shopping district in Minneapolis where there were 400 state troopers present. The tension escalated when another large crowd advanced on the city's first police precinct station near Hennepin Avenue and 5th Street. A Minneapolis police officer that drove near the crowd rolled down her window and indiscriminately fired Mace at protesters, bystanders, and journalists—the incident was caught on a
viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...
. Later, demonstrators downtown shot off fireworks and stood off against a line of Minneapolis police officers who fired tear gas. Protesters marched on the Interstate 35W highway. Smaller crowds gathered elsewhere. "We were defending an entire city with 600 officers against thousands and thousands of protestors," Frey later said of the events.Lyden, Tom (19 July 2020)
"Fall of the Third Precinct: A minute-by-minute account"
''
KMSP-TV KMSP-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, broadcasting the Fox network to the Twin Cities area. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetwo ...
''. Retrieved on 20 July 2020.


Boogaloo adherents converge in Minneapolis

As the riots unfolded, adherents of the
Boogaloo movement The boogaloo movement, whose adherents are often referred to as boogaloo boys or boogaloo bois, is a loosely organized far-right anti-government extremist movement in the United States. It has also been described as a militia. Adherents say t ...
, an extremist organization, began discussions online about how to exploit the events to start a second
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
that would be blamed on Black Lives Matter. Michael Robert Solomon of New Brighton, a Minneapolis suburb, recruited at least five Boogaloo adherents to join him in Minnesota, including Ivan Harrison Hunter of
Boerne, Texas Boerne ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kendall County, Texas, in the Texas Hill Country. Boerne is known for its German-Texan history, named in honor of German author and satirist Ludwig Börne by the German Founders of the town. The popu ...
, and Benjamin Ryan Teeter of
Hampstead, North Carolina Hampstead is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pender County, North Carolina, United States. It is located between Wilmington and Jacksonville on U.S. Route 17 and comprises an area sized just over 20 square miles. ...
. The group made plans to meet in Minneapolis at 6:00 p.m. on May 28 at the Cub Food grocery store on 26th Avenue South off East Lake Street, near the epicenter of heavy rioting and looting. During the riots, the Boogaloo members were seen driving around Minneapolis, carrying firearms, and openly discussing a willingness to commit violent acts against police officers.


Burning of the third precinct police station

Late at night on May 28, the focus of demonstrators shifted to the Minneapolis third precinct police station building at the intersection of East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue. Some protesters threw objects at the officers guarding the building, who responded by firing rubber bullets in the crowd. Demonstrators began tearing down fencing that surrounded the precinct station and police responded with tear gas. As tensions and fires in the area mounted, Frey gave the order to evacuate the station, a tactic he later said was to deescalate the situation and prevent further loss of life. Despite the evacuation order there were still at least 13 police officers in the building with some reportedly sending texts to family members in fear for their lives. Officers retreating from the building loaded into squad vehicles and had to crash through a parking lot gate as it been padlocked at some point by protesters. Demonstrators then moved in and threw bottles and debris at the fleeing officers who eventually made their way to a rendezvous site three blocks away. At 10:13p.m. CDT, chief Arradondo announced over police radio, "City wide tone right now, for the loss of the Third Precinct". After that moment, there was no police, fire, or
emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
presence in the area where the riots occurred as live television news broadcast scenes of escalating destruction. As chaos grew at the police station, hundreds of people in the crowd shouted, "Burn it down! Burn it down!" Demonstrators tore away fencing intended to stop trespassers from entering the building. Bryce Williams of Staples and Davon Turner of Saint Paul worked together to light a
Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...
, and then Turner took it into the building. Dylan Robinson of Brainerd then helped light a second
Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...
. Branden WolfChanen, David (9 June 2020
"Man charged with arson of Minneapolis Third Precinct station"
''Star Tribune''. Retrieved on 22 August 2020.
of Saint Paul pushed materials into a fire at the building's entrance, intending to accelerate the flames. One of the Boogaloo adherents who had converged in Minneapolis, Ivan Hunter of Texas, participated in the chaos. Hunter shot 13 rounds at the building using an AK-47-style gun and entered the building to loot and help set it on fire. Two hours later, Hunter sent a text message to Steven Carrillo, the perpetrator of the
2020 boogaloo murders In late May and early June 2020, two ambush-style attacks occurred against security personnel and law enforcement officers in California. The attacks left two dead and injured three others. The attacks began on May 29, when a drive-by shooting ...
, and encouraged him to, “Go for police buildings”. Many others illegally entered the building. Surrounded by an unruly crowd of about 1,000 people, the station burned until the early morning hours of May 29 when firefighting crews reached the area and eventually extinguished fires. The several-hundred-member contingent of state patrol and National Guard troops on the ground in Minneapolis that night primarily escorted fire trucks and protected a
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
building and areas of downtown Minneapolis. Walz later remarked that the city had not given directions specifying where to deploy troops as the violence escalated on East Lake Street. State officials also remarked that the city's decision to abandon the precinct station was a misjudgment, allowing demonstrators to create a situation of "absolute chaos", in the words of Walz.


Inhalation death of Oscar Lee Stewart Jr.

As the intensity of demonstrations increased the night of May 28, dozens of businesses were looted and set on fire on East Lake Street in Minneapolis near the city's third police precinct station. Looters broke into the Minnehaha Lake Wine & Spirits liquor store across the street from the police station, passed out bottles to the crowd, and then set the store on fire. Looters broke into the nearby Max It Pawn store on East Lake Street. Montez T. Lee Jr. of
Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...
, Minnesota, poured liquid accelerant around the shop and lit it on fire. Bystanders discovered that a person—later revealed as Oscar Lee Stewart Jr. of Burnsville, Minnesota—was trapped inside the building, but were unable to help guide him out after frantically removing some plywood from windows and shining flashlights inside. Fire crews that arrived later found the building too unstable for a rescue operation into the structure.Roper, Eric (22 July 2020)
"'There's somebody in there!' Bystanders scrambled to rescue person in pawn shop"
Star Tribune. Retrieved on 22 July 2020.
Stewart became the second person to die during the riots as he succumbed to inhalation and burn injuries. His remains were left in a pile of rubble and were not recovered until nearly two months later.


Widespread destruction in Saint Paul

In
Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, which had been spared from widespread property destruction on the prior night, 170 businesses were damaged or looted and dozens of fires were started on May 28. The largest fires burned at a liquor store and other shops near
Allianz Field Allianz Field is a soccer-specific stadium in Saint Paul, Minnesota, home to Minnesota United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Opening in 2019, the 19,400-seat stadium was designed by Populous, during the club's third MLS season. It is locate ...
soccer stadium at Snelling and University avenues; no major injuries were reported in those fires. Lloyd's Pharmacy on
Snelling Avenue Minnesota State Highway 51 (MN 51) is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 5 (W. 7th Street) in Saint Paul and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with Interstate 694 / U.S. Highwa ...
, which had a business presence in the area since 1918, was looted over several hours and then set on fire, which burnt the building structure to the ground. Two shopping centers in Saint Paul near University Avenue, the Sun Ray Shopping Center and Midway Shopping Center, were extensively looted. At the Midway Shopping Center, rioters torched the
Foot Locker Foot Locker Retail, Inc. is an Americans, American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in 28 countries. Although established in 1974, and founded as a separate company in ...
store, and fires spread to the adjacent
GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...
and
Great Clips Great Clips is an American hair salon chain with over 4,100 locations across the United States and Canada. It is headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. In 2013, it had system-wide sales of $1.03 billion. History Th ...
stores. Rioters also set a fire inside
Gordon Parks High School Gordon Parks High School is a public alternative learning center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The school, founded in 1991, was originally the Saint Paul Area Learning Center. It was then called Unidale Alternative Learning Center for ...
and set fire to a Goodwill and several other storefronts in the Hamline-Midway neighborhood. Several of those who were setting fires in Saint Paul that day had were residents of suburban cities or other cities outside the metropolitan area who travelled into the city to participate in the unrest.


Looting and property damage in suburban cities

By nightfall on May 28, looting and property destruction had reached several suburban communities in the Twin Cities. Near Saint Paul, the
Rosedale Center Rosedale Center, commonly known just as Rosedale, is a shopping center in Roseville, Minnesota. The mall is surrounded by suburbs and close to major highways and serves a trade area population almost 2 million people, and boasts 14 million visi ...
shopping mall in Roseville was looted. In Blaine, several people broke into the Northtown Mall, but police responded to the scene and secured the facility. In Maple Grove, looters broke into several stores at the Arbor Lakes shopping center; police that responded to burglary reports made several arrests. Businesses in the northern suburban cities of Brooklyn Center,
Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...
,
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
, and
Robbinsdale Robbinsdale is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota,. The population was 13,953 at the time of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total ...
also reported burglaries and property damage such as smashed doors or windows.


President Donald Trump reacts

Just before midnight local time on May 28, President Donald Trump posted a controversial statement on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
in reaction to the events in Minneapolis. He said, "These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but,
when the looting starts, the shooting starts "When the looting starts, the shooting starts" is a phrase originally used by Walter E. Headley, the police chief of Miami, Florida, in response to an outbreak of violent crime during the 1967 Christmas holiday season. He accused "young hoodlum ...
. Thank you!"


Friday, May 29, 2020


Trump and local officials trade comments

In a follow up to an earlier statement on Twitter, Trump said just after midnight local time on May 29, "I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right….." Frey addressed the media at 1:30 a.m. CDT as the city was battling multiple fires and violence. He acknowledged the anger in the community over Floyd's murder, but condemned the actions of rioters and looters. In defense of his decision to have police withdraw from the third precinct station to deescalate tension, he said, "
Brick and mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...
is not as important as life". He also reacted to Trump's tweets and criticized the president for stoking tension and casting blame on officials during an active crisis event. By 2:30 a.m. CDT, Twitter had flagged Trump's earlier tweet that said “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” for glorifying violence, which its guidelines prohibited.


Dakota County government building arson attack

In the suburban City of Apple Valley during the early morning hours of May 29, Minnesota residents Fornandous Cortez Henderson of
Savage Savage may refer to: Places Antarctica * Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land * Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Savage Ridge, Victoria Land United States * Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community * Savage, Minnesota, a city * Savage, Mi ...
and Garrett Ziegler of Long Lake attacked the
Dakota County Dakota County may refer to: *Dakota County, Minnesota in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of east-central Minnesota *Dakota County, Nebraska Dakota County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of th2020 United States Census the populati ...
Western Service Center—a local government building that contained a U.S. passport office, court rooms, and other official services. Henderson had targeted the building as revenge for the appearances he made before a court located inside it and because he was angry with law enforcement for Floyd's death. The two men broke several windows with baseball bats and threw Molotov cocktails inside. Some of the incendiary devices ignited and caused fire and smoke damage. The men also poured flammable liquids around the building and attempted to start other fires. Law enforcement that responded to a building alarm arrested Ziegler and Henderson as they fled on foot.


Streets cleared and curfews announced

At daybreak on May 29, National Guard troops and Minnesota State Patrol officers began clearing people out of the area of the third police precinct station near East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis. At about 6:00 a.m., patrol officers arrested
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
reporter
Omar Jimenez Omar Fernando Jimenez (born November 27, 1993) is an American journalist and correspondent working for CNN. Early life and education Jimenez was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and raised in Kennesaw, Georgia. He is Afro-Latino; his mother, Ja ...
and his camera crew as they were filming a live news report on television. After intervention from Walz, the crew was released an hour later. The same day, Major-General Jon Jensen, the highest-ranking officials in the Minnesota National Guard, expressed frustration form local leaders who had not clarified aspects of the mission. In the afternoon, Governor Walz imposed a state curfew for the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul that would run from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30. The order prohibited travel in streets or gathering at public places. Frey also issued an overlapping local curfew in Minneapolis. Local police forces in suburban cities made plans to increase patrol to prevent property destruction and looting.


Chauvin charged but other charges pending

In the late afternoon on May 29,
Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapol ...
Attorney Michael O. Freeman charged Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on Floyd's neck as he died, with
third-degree murder In the United States, the law for murder varies by jurisdiction. In many US jurisdictions there is a hierarchy of acts, known collectively as homicide, of which first-degree murder and felony murder are the most serious, followed by second-deg ...
and second-degree manslaughter. New charges for officers Lane, Kueng, and Thao, who were at the scene of Floyd's murder, remained pending. Protesters who had demanded immediate murder charges against all four officers were disappointed; four days had already elapsed since Floyd's murder. Many protestors intensified focus on the demand for criminal charges in their messaging that day. The
Target Corporation Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compon ...
expanded its closure of stores to 73 in Minnesota with the violence not appearing to abate. Several thousand people rallied peacefully in Minneapolis in the afternoon, culminating in a march on to Interstate 35W where demonstrators knelt. The de-escalation strategy of abandoning the third precinct station the previous night, however, was said to have had little effect on quelling unrest later on Friday. Despite the announcement of the charge against Chauvin, protesters said they would defy curfew until all four police officers at the scene of Floyd's death were charged criminally.


Violence escalates again by nightfall

Riots broke out again the night of Friday, May 29 and continued into early morning of Saturday, May 30. Demonstrators had tear gas fired on them in rallies at the abandoned third precinct building in Minneapolis. Later in the night, the police presence diminished and several cars were set on fire that neighbors attempted to put out. Much of the action the night of May 29 took place near the Minneapolis police fifth precinct station at Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue. Residents of the
Midtown Exchange The Midtown Exchange is a historic structure and mixed-use building located in the Midtown neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is the second-largest building in Minnesota in terms of leasable space, after the Mall of America. ...
, a historic building with mix-use space for commercial and residential use, fended off threats to their building by patrolling the area with
baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...
s. Law enforcement presence was reportedly "undetectable" as violence in Minneapolis quickly grew until just before midnight, when police officers, state troopers, and members of the National Guard began confronting rioters with tear gas and mass force. Seventy-five fires were reported across Minneapolis that night. Officials later said that the 350 police officers at the site of rioting near the Minneapolis fifth precinct station were vastly outnumbered by the crowds. Walz explained that the scope of the chaos, the time it takes to mobilize guard troops, and the mobile nature of the crowds made it difficult to direct response forces.
Minnesota Department of Public Safety The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) is a department of the State of Minnesota in the United States. DPS is an enforcement, licensing and services agency that develops and operates programs in the areas of law enforcement, traffic safe ...
Commissioner John Harrington said that protests were active at several sites through the city and that there were not enough officers to safely and successfully undertake multiple missions.Brown, Kyle (30 May 2020)
"Gov. Walz calls for full mobilization of the Minnesota National Guard; says many protesters from out of state"
. ''KSTP''. Retrieved on 30 May 2020.
As the events unfolded that night,
the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
placed members of the Military Police Corps from
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...
and
Fort Drum Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, on the northern border of New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. It is home ...
on stand-by, preparing for possible deployment to the Twin Cities if requested by Walz. Walz later declined the offer and activated all of the state's National Guard, up to 13,200 troops.


Saturday, May 30, 2020


Overnight destruction

Overnight from May 29 to May 30, smoke and the sound of helicopters filled the sky in Minneapolis through the night as multiple fires burned near the fifth police precinct station in Minneapolis. A
United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...
on Nicollet Avenue, a
Wells Fargo Bank Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and inter ...
branch, and several gas stations, among other businesses, blazed overnight. Several businesses also burned on West Broadway Avenue in north Minneapolis, including a barbershop that was destroyed by fire. Officials were unable to immediately attend to major fires, citing security concerns at the sites, but later reached them when they could be accompanied by National Guard and police patrols. For the second time in as many nights, officials held a press conference at 1:30 a.m. CDT, but this time in Saint Paul and led by the governor and state officials. Some officials speculated that much of the destruction was being caused by people from outside the state, a claim that was later contradicted by arrest records of protesters and that officials rescinded. It was reported that mayor Frey and governor Walz appeared visibly exhausted as they made emotional pleas to the public about Floyd's murder and the escalation of violence. "The absolute chaos — this is not grieving, and this is not making a statement bout an injusticethat we fully acknowledge needs to be fixed — this is dangerous," Walz said. "You need to go home." Walz also took responsibility for underestimating the size of the crowds causing destruction earlier in the night.


Mix of peaceful and confrontational protests

Officials mobilized National Guard troops throughout Saturday, May 30, expecting even larger crowds. Groups of people continued to gather at George Floyd Square, the makeshift memorial at the site of Floyd's arrest and subsequent murder. More than 1,000 protesters gathered outside the home of Michael Freeman, the attorney for
Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapol ...
and initial prosecutor of the four Minneapolis police officers involved in the murder of George Floyd, and caused minor damage to the house. By nightfall, demonstrations in Minneapolis were a mix of peaceful gatherings and others that involved property destruction. Minneapolis police reported that a group of protesters near Hiawatha Avenue and Lake Street were attacking police by throwing nondescript objects, and deployed more units to the area. That night after curfew, police fired tear gas at a group of protesters who were attempting to march from Minneapolis to Saint Paul via the Lake Street Bridge. Police also fired rubber bullets, paint canisters, and tear gas at sitting protestors and journalists outside the Minneapolis fifth precinct police station, resulting in serious injuries. Late that night, Minneapolis police officers that patrolled East Lake Street near 15th Avenue South were hit with rocks, debris, and bottles of bodily fluids thrown by demonstrators.


Police assault of Jaleel Stallings

At approximately 10:53 p.m. on May 30, Jaleel Stallings, a 27-year-old man from Saint Paul, was part of a group of people in a parking lot on East Lake Street between 14th and 15h avenues in Minneapolis who were protecting businesses from looting, in defiance of the curfew order. Minneapolis police officers who were in an unmarked white van encounter the group and fired rubber bullets without advance warning or announcing themselves as police. Stallings, believing the van might be white supremacists firing actual bullets, returned three rounds of defensive gunfire, aiming low and at the ground. When the van stopped and a
SWAT team In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
exited and identified themselves as police, Stallings dropped his gun and laid down on the ground to surrender and verbally apologized to the officers. Minneapolis police officer Justin Stetson allegedly kicked and punched Stallings several times in the head as the officers arrested him, with the events being filmed on law enforcement body cameras. Stallings suffered a broken
eye socket In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is , of ...
.


Full government mobilization

By Saturday night, the Minnesota National Guard was approaching full mobilization.Dale, Daniel (1 July 2020)
"Fact check: Minnesota governor, not Trump, called out the National Guard"
''CNN''. Retrieved on 14 July 2020.
No buildings were set on fire in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, unlike the previous three nights. After May 30, violent riots subsided and protests returned to being largely peaceful events.


Sunday, May 31, 2020


Troop deployment and peaceful rallies

By late morning on May 31, several thousand Minnesota National Guard troops were conducting missions. Protests and rallies were held at various locations throughout the metropolitan region. Crowds of people once again gathered at the site of Floyd's arrest and subsequent murder. Speakers at a "Justice for George Floyd" rally at the state capitol building in Saint Paul spoke about police brutality and called for the arrest of the other three officers at the scene of Floyd's murder. A peaceful crowd marched westbound on I-94 before heading down University Avenue in Saint Paul."Floyd protests: Protesters march, block traffic; Walz extends curfew".
31 May 2020. MPR News. Retrieved on 5 July 2020.
Later in the day, Walz and Freeman agreed that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison would assist in the investigation of Floyd's murder.


Tanker truck incident on I-35W

Shortly after 6:00 p.m. CDT on May 31, an estimated crowd of 5,000 to 6,000 people gathered on the I-35W bridge over the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
in Minneapolis and, believing police forces had fully closed the interstate highway after they marched on to it, began taking a knee. An unaware semi-truck tanker drove northbound through an unbarricaded section of the highway and into the protesters, causing the crowd to part ways to avoid being run down. The drivera 35-year-old man from
Otsego, Minnesota Otsego is a city in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. It is a northwest suburb within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. It had a population of 19,966 at the 2020 census. Following the 2020 census, Otsego was determined to b ...
returning from a fuel deliveryinitially came to a halt, but then tried to continue driving forward, until he was pulled from his cab and beaten by the surrounding crowd. He suffered minor injuries, as some of the protesters attempted to protect him. A live social media video captured a person pointing a gun at the truck driver and shooting two rounds into the truck's front tire. Bystanders brought the truck driver to the police, who then pepper-sprayed the crowd. The driver was taken to
Hennepin County Medical Center Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is a Level I adult and pediatric trauma center and safety net hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the county seat of Hennepin County. The primary 484-bed facility is on six city blocks across the street from ...
then released into the custody of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which initially charged him with assault. No serious injuries to the people on the bridge were reported, though one protester suffered abrasions during the incident. Led by the Minnesota State Patrol and the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, officials cited 318 people for unlawful assembly in connection to the incident.


June 1–7, 2020


Memorials and peaceful gatherings

On Monday, June 1, 2020, Governor Walz began the process of demobilizing the state's National Guard, a process that would take several days. Two
autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
reports were publicizedone by the Hennepin County medical examiner and one by doctors hired by Floyd's familyboth ruled Floyd's death a
homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
. Thousands gathered peacefully at the
Minnesota State Capitol The Minnesota State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Minnesota, in its capital city of Saint Paul. It houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the office of the Attorney General and the office o ...
building in Saint Paul and marched to the Governor's Residence, calling for police reforms and the prosecution of all four officers who were involved in Floyd's murder. Nearly 30 Saint Paul police officers on the outskirts of the rally took a knee, which drew criticism from rally organizers who felt the gesture was a hollow
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
stunt and asked them to leave. Activist
Nekima Levy Armstrong Nekima Valdez Levy Armstrong (' Levy-Pounds, c. 1976) is an American lawyer and social justice activist. She served as president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP from 2015 to 2016. She has led a variety of organizations that focus on iss ...
, citing distrust of Attorney General Keith Ellison, demanded that Floyd's case be handled outside the state. Governor
Tim Walz Timothy James Walz ( ; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician and retired educator. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. Born in West Point, Nebraska, Wal ...
attended part of the rally but did not speak publicly. Floyd's family addressed a crowd at the 38th and Chicago intersection and encouraged people to continue protesting, but to do so peacefully. Terrance Floyd, George's brother, said that instead of destroying property, demonstrators should, ""Educate yourself, and know who you're voting for. That's how we're going to hit them...Let's switch it up." On Tuesday, June 2, 2020, thousands of people gathered for several peaceful protests across the Twin Cities. Reflecting on social justice action during the United States
civil rights era The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United ...
, faith leaders held corresponding marches in south Minneapolis and Saint Paul. A dozen area high school students organized a
sit in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to m ...
at the state capitol building in Saint Paul that drew an estimated crowd of 3,000 people. A National Guard troop member was given the opportunity to briefly address the crowd to explain their mission to restore order and protect peaceful assembly. Somber protests continued at the Minneapolis intersection were Floyd was murdered and a group remained after the curfew time came and went. On Wednesday, June 3, 2020, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who four days earlier took over the case against the officers involved in Floyd's murder, upgraded the murder charges against former officer Chauvin and charged former officers Kueng, Lane, and Thao with
aiding and abetting Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets (encourages, incites) another person in the commission of a crime (or in another's suicide). It exists in a number of different countries and generally allo ...
second-degree murder. Floyd's family called the charges "a significant step forward on the road to justice". Walz, who visited the Floyd memorial at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis where crowds continued to gather, said he recognized "that the anguish driving protests around the world is about more than one tragic incident". On Thursday, June 4, 2020, some protests continued Thursday as the family of George Floyd held a memorial service for him at
North Central University North Central University (NCU) is a private Christian university associated with the Assemblies of God and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is owned and operated by 11 Assemblies of God districts of the upper Midwest. NCU was founded in 1 ...
in Minneapolis, about from where he was killed on May 25. Many state and local officials attended, including governor Walz, U.S. Senators
Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Minne ...
and
Tina Smith Christine Elizabeth Smith (née Flint, born March 4, 1958) is an American politician, retired Democratic political consultant, and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Minnesota since 2018. She is a member of th ...
, U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, Minneapolis Mayor
Jacob Frey Jacob Lawrence Frey ( ; born July 23, 1981) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota since 2018. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he served on the Minneapolis City C ...
, and Police Chief
Medaria Arradondo Medaria Arradondo is an American law enforcement official who served as the Chief of the Minneapolis Police Department from 2017 until 2022. He was the first black chief of the Minneapolis Police Department. Career A fifth-generation Minnesot ...
. The service also drew national officials and civil rights leaders, such as
Martin Luther King III Martin Luther King III (born October 23, 1957) is an American human rights activist, philanthropist and advocate. The oldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, King served as the 4t ...
, Reverends
Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...
and
Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host and politician. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democrati ...
, as well as several celebrity figures. A reverent crowd gathered at nearby Elliot Park to listen to a broadcast of the memorial on loudspeakers where free food, groceries, and dry goods were provided. On Friday, June 5, 2020, thousands gathered for a rally at
U.S. Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium is an enclosed stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Built on the former site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the indoor stadium opened in 2016 and is the home of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Footbal ...
in Minneapolis to honor the life of Floyd and call for police reform measures. Former NBA basketball player
Royce White Royce Alexander White (born April 10, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. During his brief tenure with the NBA—he played just briefly in three regular-season games—White was open about his history of Generalized Anxi ...
, a featured speaker at the event that brought civil rights organizations and professional athletes together, called for the resignation of police union president Bob Kroll. The protest group marched through the city in the early evening. As nights grew calmer, curfews that had been in place since the previous Friday ended in the Twin Cities on June 5, 2020.


"Defund police" rallies and pledge

On Saturday, June 6, 2020, thousands of protesters marched in Minneapolis in an event led by local organization
Black Visions Collective Black Visions Collective (BLVC) is an American nonprofit organization for black liberation based in Minnesota, founded in December 2017. The group intersects with transgender and LGBTQ communities. Active in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropoli ...
. Protesters gathered at the city's Bottineau Field Park, marched past the Minneapolis Police Federation's union headquarters, and ended at Mayor Frey's private residence. The march featured chants of "George Floyd!" and "Black Lives Matter!" and pleas to
defund the police "Defund the police" is a slogan that supports removing funds from police departments and reallocating them to non-policing forms of public safety and community support, such as social services, youth services, housing, education, healthcare and o ...
. At Frey's home, the crowd demanded that he come outside, and then when Frey appeared asked if he supported abolishing the city's police force. After Frey responded that he did not, the crowd ordered him to leave and booed him away. At the rally, United States Representative Ilhan Omar, whose
Minnesota's 5th congressional district Minnesota's 5th congressional district is a geographically small urban and suburban congressional district in Minnesota. It covers eastern Hennepin County, including the entire city of Minneapolis, along with parts of Anoka and Ramsey countie ...
encompassed Minneapolis, denounced the city's police force as "inherently beyond reform". On Sunday, June 7, 2020, at a Powderhorn Park rally organized by Black Visions Collective and several other black-led social justice organizations, nine of the 13 members of the
Minneapolis City Council The Minneapolis City Council is the lawmaking body of Minneapolis. It consists of 13 members, elected from separate wards to four-year terms, via a ranked-choice method. The council structure has been in place since the 1950s. In recent elections ...
vowed before a large crowd to dismantle the city's police department. Onstage taking the pledge were Council President
Lisa Bender Elizabeth Peterson "Lisa" Bender (born May 11, 1978) is an American politician, city planner, and a former member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 10th Ward. In 2018, she was unanimously elected president of the Minneapolis City Council. ...
, Vice President
Andrea Jenkins Andrea Jenkins (born May 10, 1961) is an American politician, writer, performance artist, poet, and transgender activist. She is known for being the first black openly transgender woman elected to public office in the United States, serving sin ...
and Council Members
Alondra Cano Alondra Cano (born September 26, 1981) is an American politician, activist, and former member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 9th Ward. Early life and education Cano was born in Cokato, Minnesota and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico befo ...
,
Phillipe Cunningham Phillipe M. Cunningham is a former city council member for Minneapolis Ward 4 and the first transgender man of color to be elected to public office in the United States. Cunningham won the council position in the 2017 Minneapolis City Council el ...
, Jeremiah Ellison, Steve Fletcher, Cam Gordon,
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...
, and Jeremy Schroeder. At the rally, Bender said of the pledge to abolish the city's police force, "Our efforts at incremental reform have failed. Period." Council Member Linea Palmisano attended the rally as an audience member, but did not go on stage or take the pledge, and Council Members Lisa Goodman and Kevin Reich did not attend nor agree to the pledge. The June 7 pledge by nine city council members, though it represented a veto-proof majority, did not actually disband the Minneapolis police force and details about the next steps in the process were not defined at the time. Some activists wanted to consider the idea of unarmed crisis response personnel and re-purposing the police department's $193 million annual budget for education, food, housing, and health care.


End of government mobilization

A multi-agency government command that responded to the civil unrest demobilized on Monday, June 7, 2020, exactly two weeks after Floyd's murder. The government response was led by Minnesota Department of Public Safety and had participation of federal agencies, Minnesota National Guard, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Minnesota State Patrol, and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The command had provided security for some events, such as the June 4 memorial in Elliot Park, but noted that events leading up to and on June 7 were not violent. By June 7, the State of Minnesota had pressed 7,123 members of the
Minnesota National Guard The Minnesota National Guard is a state-based military force of more than 13,000 soldiers and airmen, serving in 61 communities across the state. Operated in the U.S. state of Minnesota, it is reserve component of the National Guard. The Cons ...
into duty under the commanded of Major General
Jon A. Jensen Jon A. Jensen (born 1963) is a Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general in the United States Army. He currently serves as the 22nd Army National Guard#Leadership, director of the Army National Guard. He previously served as the Sta ...
in the largest deployment in the state's history since
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The state command had also mobilized 575 state patrol troopers and 190 conservation officers for the riot response.


Aftermath

By early June 2020, nearly 1,500 property locations in the Twin Cities metropolitan region had been damaged by vandalism, fire, and/or looting, with some buildings reduced to rubble and dozens of others completely destroyed by fire. The heaviest damage occurred in Minneapolis along a stretch on Lake Street between the city's third and fifth police precincts and in Saint Paul along a stretch of University Avenue in the Midway area. Reports of property destruction in the metropolitan region reached from the northern suburbs of Blaine and Maple Grove to the southern suburb of Apple Valley. Most of the arrests of demonstrators that later resulted in criminal charges were for acts of property destruction and rioting that occurred by June 1, 2020. Estimates of property damage in the region were upwards of $500 million, making the local unrest in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area the second most destructive in United States history, after the
1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
. About 60% of the financial losses were uninsured. Local officials estimated that rebuilding damaged business corridors in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region would take 10 years. During the unrest, many business owners boarded up with
plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
panels to cover windows and doors at their properties to prevent looting. Many residents, small business owners, and organization leaders stood guard at their buildings overnight during the heaviest rioting and some intervened to dissuade rioters from destroying property. In the mornings after nights of heavy rioting, hundreds of residents with
snow shovel A snow shovel is a specialized shovel designed for snow removal. Snow shovels come in several different designs, each of which is designed to move snow in a different way. Removing snow with a snow shovel has health and injury risks, but can also ...
s and brooms went to affected areas to clean up trash, graffiti, broken glass, and the remnants of damaged buildings. Residents organized
food drive A food drive is a form of charity that is conducted by a group of individuals or a corporation to stockpile and distribute foodstuffs to people who cannot afford food. Overview Food drives are operated in order to stock food banks that distribute ...
s after many convenience stores and grocery stores were destroyed or closed due to the unrest. Vibrant works of
street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...
later appeared all over the Twin Cities on boarded-up buildings and other surfaces that honored George Floyd's memory, contained racial justice themes, and showed community solidarity. At least two deaths occurred during the initial wave of civil disorder. Calvin Horton Jr., a 43-year-old man from Minneapolis, was fatally shot on May 27 by the owner of the Cadillac Pawn & Jewelry shop who believed he was burglarizing his business. Oscar Lee Stewart Jr., a 30-year-old man from Burnsville, Minnesota, died from smoke inhalation and burn injuries from an intentional building fire at the Max It Pawn store in Minneapolis on May 28. No one faced
homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
charges in connection to either man's death—Horton's killing was deemed self defense and Steward's death accidental. Officials had trouble identifying the people responsible for causing destruction as the peaceful protests transitioned to riots. Law enforcement recovered incendiaries, weapons, and stolen vehicles left in the areas of heated protests. The
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevent ...
investigated 164 structure fires due to
arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
in the Twin Cities in the days after Floyd's murderthe total did not reflect individual acts of arson and did not include adjacent structures were damaged by large fires. The multi-agency law enforcement command center for the Twin Cities announced that 604 protesters had been arrested as of June 2, 2020. Several hundred of those arrested were described as participating in peaceful protests, but were taken into custody at night for violating curfew.Staff (1 June 2020)
"More Than 480 Arrested Over The Weekend Amid Minnesota’s Aggressive Response To Protests, Unrest"
''WCCO''.
People charged with violating curfew faced potential fines of up to $1,000 or 90 days in jail,Montemayor, Stephen (22 June 2020)
"Colin Kaepernick helping to cover legal costs for Minnesota protesters"
''Star Tribune''.
but charges against many who protested peacefully were later dropped. By a year after the unrest, federal officials had charged 17 people for rioting or arson-related crimes and local officials had charged 81 with felonies connected to the unrest. More than half of those charged were described as
white Americans White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...
who travelled from suburban or rural communities to participate in the unrest, with some motivated to address racial injustice. Commenting on the racial dynamics of those causing destruction and who it affected, the ''
Pioneer Press The Pioneer Press publishes 32 local newspapers in the Chicago area. It is a division of Tribune Publishing, and is based in Chicago. The community newspapers are the main source of local news in Illinois communities such as Winnetka, Highland ...
'' newspaper said in October 2020, "In St. Paul, the irony of self-proclaimed advocates — many of them white — arriving from outside the city to burn down large strips of ethnic neighborhoods in the name of racial justice hasn’t been lost on residents of the Midway." The driver of the tanker truck during the I-35W protest march on May 31, 2020, was initially charged with criminal vehicular operation, but the charges were dismissed and the driver asserted he did not drive into the protest intentionally. Jaleel Stallings, who had fired gunshots towards an unmarked vehicle containing police officers on May 30, 2020, was acquitted at trial of an attempted murder charges in 2021 after successfully argued his actions were self defense. Justin Stetson, a former Minneapolis police officer, was charged in late 2022 with third-degree assault for allegedly striking Stallings after he was unarmed and had surrendered. Stallings and several others settled police misconduct lawsuits with the City of Minneapolis in the aftermath of the unrest. The events became topic of local and national political debate in the years afterwards. The terminology used to characterize what happened in Minneapolis—"the riots" or "the uprising"—reflected growing
political polarization in the United States Political polarization is a prominent component of politics in the United States. Scholars distinguish between ideological polarization (differences between the policy positions) and affective polarization (a dislike and distrust of political o ...
at the time of Floyd's murder, and implied deeper motives for violent actors during the unrest . Analysis of state and federal criminal charges, however, found that disorganized crowds had no single goal or affiliation, many opportunist crowds amassed spontaneously during periods of lawlessness, and that people causing destruction had contradictory motives for their actions.


Maps

Major areas of civic unrest in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, May 27–29, 2020: image:Minneapolis Civil Unrest - East Lake Street.svg, East Lake Street in Minneapolis image:Saint Paul Civil Unrest - University Avenue West.svg, University Avenue West, in Saint Paul image:Minneapolis Civil Unrest - Nicollet Avenue.svg, Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis


Videos

File:George Floyd Damage From Protest On Southside of Minneapolis.webm, Scenes of protests and looting in Minneapolis, May 28, 2020 File:Some scenes from Minneapolis this morning. Domino’s burned, National Guard arrives in 3rd precinct, citizens put out a fire, Ivy Building For The Arts on fire, maX it PAWN on fire..webm, Scenes of fires and destruction in Minneapolis, May 29, 2020


Subsequent events


George Floyd Square

George Floyd protests first emerged on May 26, 2020, at the East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue intersection where he was murdered the day prior. Residents and activists transformed the street intersection into a memorial site with public art of Floyd and of other racial justice themes. Some activists also held several blocks around the intersection in an occupation protest. The memorial site and occupation of the area was referred to as George Floyd Square and it became a "continuous site of protest" and thousands of people from multiple countries visited it. City crews removed cement barricades at the intersection on June 3, 2021, as part of a phased reopening process and vehicular traffic resumed several weeks later on June 20, 2021. The controversial protest movement at George Floyd Square persisted after the city's streetway re-opening process.


Racial injustice and other police killings

After the initial wave of unrest, protestors continued to seek justice for Floyd and made broader calls to address
structural racism A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
in Minnesota, with many protest events part of the larger
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement. ''
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
'' described the protest period in the months after Floyd's murder as the "summer of racial reckoning". A columnist for ''The European Conservative'' referred to it as "the long hot summer of 2020", a nod to the
long, hot summer of 1967 The long, hot summer of 1967 refers to the more than 150 race riots that erupted across the United States in the summer of 1967. In June there were riots in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Tampa. In July there were riots in Birmingh ...
. Law enforcement killings resulted in protests and intermittent civil disorder throughout 2020, 2021, and 2022.Forgrave Protests also led to a local
police abolition movement The police abolition movement is a political movement, mostly active in the United States, that advocates replacing policing with other systems of public safety. Police abolitionists believe that policing, as a system, is inherently flawed and ca ...
. A political campaign to amend the Minneapolis city's charter to replace the police department with a Department of Public Safety continued in 2020 and 2021, but the City Question 2 ballot initiate was ultimate rejected by voters.


Criminal trial of Derek Chauvin

In 2020 and 2021, several protests were held in Minneapolis that coincided with judicial proceedings and the criminal
trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...
of Derek Chauvin. Local government officials surrounded the Hennepin County Government Center, a downtown Minneapolis courthouse and local government office building, that was the venue for the proceedings with a temporary concrete barrier, metal fencing, and
barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...
in anticipation of civil disorder. Demonstrations grew in size during Chauvin's
criminal trial Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...
that commenced on March 8, 2021, and concluded on April 19, 2021. The court announced a guilty verdict on April 20, 2021, and several marches and rallies took place afterwards. Some activists in Minneapolis who were compelled to action by Floyd's murder stated that Chauvin's guilty verdict in April 2021 would not be the end their protest movement. Protests at the conclusion Chauvin's criminal case featured chants of the mantra, "One down, three to go". Alexander, Lane, and Thaothe other three officers at the scene of Floyd's murderawaited a federal civil rights trial in and a state criminal trial for aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. Activists believed that justice over Floyd's murder included holding all four officers legally accountable, as well as having policy makers address what they perceived as systemic racism in policing. Several activists pledged to continue protesting until the conclusion of the criminal trials and the civil case against the police officers at the scene of Floyd's murder.


First-year anniversary events

Several events were held in conjunction with the one-year anniversary of Floyd's murder. The George Floyd Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Floyd's family, planned marches and rallies in Minneapolis, New York, and Houston for May 23, 2021, and called for two days of virtual activism everywhere in the United States in support of federal police reform legislation. On May 23, 2021, the Floyd family and civil rights activists led a rally in downtown Minneapolis outside the Hennepin County Government Center building, which was still fortified by fencing installed for the Chauvin trial that concluded a month earlier. Bridgett Floyd, who was George's sister, Al Sharpton, Floyd family Attorney Benjamin Crump were among those who spoke to the crowd of several hundred people. Activists who spoke hoped that Floyd's murder, which had been a catalyst for changing policing policies in the United States, would result in passage of police reform legislation and examination of other officer-involved killings. U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter attended the events. A crowd marched through downtown Minneapolis after the rally. On May 25, 2021, downtown Minneapolis hosted a "George Floyd Inaugural Remembrance: Celebration Of Life" concert, and several events were held at the East 38th and Chicago Avenue street intersection were he was killed. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz declared a statewide moment of silence for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, the length of time Chauvin knelt on Floyd, for 1:00 p.m. Said Walz, "George Floyd's murder ignited a global movement and awakened many Minnesotans and people around the world to the systemic racism that our Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color have known for centuries".


Civil rights trial of Kueng, Lane, and Thao

In early 2022, local officials prepared counter-protest measures and for potential unrest ahead of the January 20 schedule start of the federal civil rights trial of Kueng, Lane, and Thao. Officials erected security fencing around the Warren E. Burger Federal Building in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that contained the courtroom for the trial. Protest demonstrations were held in the streets surrounding the courtroom building during the trial. On February 24, 2022, Kueng, Lane, and Thao were convicted on all federal civil rights charges they faced at trial. A small group of protesters gathered outside the court building in Saint Paul and at the location in Minneapolis where Floyd was murdered while the verdict was read.


Second-year anniversary events

Several events in Minneapolis were held in conjunction with the second anniversary of Floyd's murder on May 25, 2022. The events, referred to as the Day of Racial Reckoning Assembly, promoted racial justice and healing. At George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, city officials unveiled a commemorative "George Perry Floyd Square" street sign. In the evening, about three dozen protesters gathered outside the Minnesota governor's residence in Saint Paul to demand police reform and systemic change. A group of demonstrators marched on East Lake Street in Minneapolis on May 28, 2022, to mark the second anniversary of the burning of the city's third police precinct building. Demonstrators lit off fireworks, spray painted graffiti messages, and set several shopping carts on fire.


Criminal proceedings for Lane, Kueng, and Thao

Lane pleaded guilty on May 18, 2022, to the charge of aiding and abetting manslaughter, in order to avoid trial and have the charge of aiding and abetting second-degree murder against him dismissed. Jury selection for the state criminal trial of Kueng and Thao was schedule to begin on October 24, 2022. Unlike previous criminal trial of Chauvin and the civil rights trial of the other three offices at the scene of Floyd's death, the proceedings were not livestreamed and officials had not surrounded the courtroom building with barbed-wire fencing and National Guard troops. A few hours before the proceedings were to begin, Kueng pleaded guilty to the criminal state charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter with a recommendation of 42 months in prison. Thao waved his right to a jury trial in lieu of a trial by stipulated evidence—a legal move that gave the presiding judge 90 days to review the evidence before the court and issue a verdict.


See also

* 2020–2021 United States racial unrest * 2020 Minneapolis homeless encampments *
George Floyd protests in Minnesota Civil unrest over the murder of George Floyd began as local protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul on May 26, 2020, the day after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer. Protests and civil disorder quickly spread to other location ...
*
History of Minneapolis Minneapolis is the largest city by population in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The origin and growth of the city was spurred by the proximity of Fort Snelling, the first major United States military presen ...
* List of civil unrest in Minneapolis–Saint Paul *
Police brutality in the United States Police brutality is the repression by personnel affiliated with law enforcement when dealing with suspects and civilians. The term is also applied to abuses by "corrections" personnel in municipal, state, and federal prison camps, including mi ...


References


Further reading

*L. Diavolo
"The Minneapolis Rebellion So Far, According to the People Living It"
''
Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', targeted at teenagers. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since ...
'', 1 June 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2022. *A. Rome,
The Minneapolis Uprising and the Heavy Stick of Reaction
, ''Hampton Think'', June 2, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2022. *N. Robinson
"In their own words: the protesters at the heart of America's uprising"
''The Guardian'', 6 June 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2022. *L. Navratil, A. Boone, and J. Shiffer
"The siege, evacuation and destruction of a Minneapolis police station"
''Star Tribune'', 11 August 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2022. * Retrieved December 28, 2022. *


External links


''Bring Me The News'': Minneapolis Riots
*[https://hennepinhistory.org/reading/ Hennepin History Museum: Reading the Minneapolis Uprising]
''Star Tribune'': Video aftermath of rioting, looting (10 June 2020)
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