Minnesota Officials Walk Back Their Estimations On Out-Of-State Protesters
Minnesota officials have retracted their statements about the number of protesters arrested in the George Floyd demonstrations who were from out of state, according to The Hill.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter changed his estimations on Saturday evening during a joint press conference with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and state Gov. Tim Walz, just hours after he claimed that “every single person” who was arrested Friday evening was from out of state.
Walz said he believed they would have a more accurate picture of how many protesters were from other states after Saturday evening when law enforcement has a chance to process the detainees.
“Whether they’re from Minnesota or not, if you’re out there doing that at night, you’re not sharing these values, you’re not sharing who we are. “Don’t be the one to say that you destroyed that business that’s been there for 50 years.”
State officials also urged Minnesotans to put an end to the violence and continue the demonstrations peacefully. The governor noted the newly implemented curfew, which went into effect at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
As tensions remain high, the governor has also made military units and the Minnesota National Guard part of the newly formed defense plan. Thanks to the new curfew, patrols will be able to push people out of the streets more efficiently.
The Minnesota DPS tweeted a warning to those considering a continuation of this week’s destruction, saying that the response and destruction would be different going forward, calling the conflict “urban warfare.”
The situation on the ground in Minneapolis & St. Paul has shifted & the response tonight will be different as a result. The coordinated @MNNationalGuard, @MnDPS_MSP, & law enforcement presence will triple in size to address a sophisticated network of urban warfare. #MACCMN
— MnDPS_DPS (@MnDPS_DPS) May 30, 2020
In addition to the newly imposed curfew and roughly tripled law enforcement presence, portions of the city’s highways were shut down at 7 p.m. to help combat destruction spreading through the state after dark.
According to The Hill‘s report, military units have been put on a four-hour recall status to keep the problems in check. President Donald Trump assured officials on Saturday that they have the “unlimited power” of the military to deal with out-of-state protesters.
We now have more than 4,100 — quickly moving toward 10,800 — Minnesota Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen supporting our friends and neighbors in the Twin Cities. This is a significant increase over the 700 on-duty Friday. We live here. We work here. We serve here. We’re all in. pic.twitter.com/WorKOI9ZCa
— Minnesota National Guard (@MNNationalGuard) May 31, 2020
Trump took his stand on Twitter, saying that the federal government was ready to do what has to be done to stop the devastation. The president indicated his willingness to use “the unlimited power of our Military,” which would likely result in “many arrests.”
Trump tweeted in response to not only growing violence but also reports from the Twin Cities mayors that many of those believed to have been the incendiary element in Minneapolis were from surrounding states.
