Riots erupted for yet another night in the wake of the controversial death of George Floyd, who died under the custody of Minneapolis Police. Floyd was arrested over an alleged false document incident but died when now-ex-Officer Devin Chauvin knelt on the back of his neck for nearly ten minutes. Floyd was already in handcuffs and lying on his stomach. His cries that he couldn’t breathe are audible in the ghastly video. All four officers involved in the arrested were fired, with Chauvin being booked on third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. The FBI and the Department of Justice are also investigating the tragic incident.
This is an outrage. There is near-universal condemnation and there should be expressions of anger and protests over what happened. Yet, what has transpired over the past few nights is anything but a protest. It’s a riot. Looting, vandalism, and mayhem have engulfed the country. Minneapolis, the epicenter for this chaos, has been engulfed in flames. Our own Julio Rosas is in Mill City for Townhall and has documented the conditions on the ground, noting the lawlessness that has created an atmosphere of total pandemonium. Where are the cops? Where is the National Guard? Rosas, who has reported on other protests, including ones with a heavy Antifa presence, said that he’s never seen anything like what he’s witnessed in the Twin Cities. Folks, a police headquarters was torched by rioters.
MN Dept. Of Public Safety spokesperson: “We’ve got intel reports that have been confirmed but I cannot say we have confirmed we have cells of white supremacists.”
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 30, 2020
Unbelievable. Basically everything Minnesota political leaders, who have already proven incompetent with their response, said this morning was false. And yet media personalities used those statements to frame their whole narrative re white nationalists. https://t.co/VT9XwwvrBC
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) May 31, 2020
Democratic Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, also a Democrat, have been outright disastrous in how they’ve handled the situation. They’ve allowed the city to be ruled by the mob. They’ve ceded parts of the city for them to destroy. It’s been a disaster. Frey even reminded the rioters about social distancing guidelines regarding the coronavirus. And Walz tried to blame white supremacists for being involved in the chaos, a claim that the MN Department of Public Safety could not confirm because it’s not true. Whether it be a pandemic or a riot, the liberal media and their Democratic allies will always find a way to pivot to blame something that they think can be linked back to President Trump or Republicans. In doing so, they create fake news. It’s an election year. Trump looks better than Joe Biden by the day—and these two Democratic clowns in Minnesota can’t get their act together to quell the mob. Yeah, I could see why Democrats would try and get this white supremacist lie going—but it’s still total garbage (via USA Today) [emphasis mine]:
Drifting out of the shadows in small groups, dressed in black, carrying shields and wearing knee pads, they head toward the front lines of the protest. Helmets and gas masks protect and obscure their faces, and they carry bottles of milk to counteract tear gas and pepper spray.
Most of them appear to be white. They carry no signs and don't want to speak to reporters. Trailed by designated "medics" with red crosses taped to their clothes, these groups head straight for the front lines of the conflict.
[…]
The real hard-core guys, this is their job: They’re involved in this struggle," said Adam Leggat, a former British Army counterterrorism officer who now works as a security consultant specializing in crowd management for the Densus Group. "They need protests on the street to give them cover to move in.”
[…]
"There are detractors. There are white supremacists. There are anarchists," Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said Saturday afternoon.
However, a civil arrest list provided by the public information officer of the St. Paul Police Department shows 12 of the 18 people arrested from Thursday through 6 a.m. Saturday were from Minnesota. Five of them are from St. Paul, three are from Woodbury (part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area), two are from Minneapolis, one is from Mankato and one is from St. Louis Park. Four are from out of state and two did not have cities of residence listed.
[…]
Leggat, the security consultant, said intelligence reports from his colleagues indicate most of the hard-core protesters in Minneapolis are far-left or anarchists, and that far-right groups have not yet made a significant appearance. He said looting is typically done by locals – usually people with no criminal record who just get caught up in the moment.
Barr: It is Antifa.
— Andrew Beck (@AndrewBeckNYC) May 30, 2020
Cops: It is Antifa.
Protestors: It is Antifa.
Antifa: It is us.
Blue checks: It is something else.
A security expert says intelligence reports indicate most of the hard-core protesters in Minneapolis are far-left or anarchists, and that far-right groups have not yet made a significant appearance.https://t.co/pkJAKjkYYj
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) May 30, 2020
The first sign that this narrative was trash was when Walz’s own public safety department couldn’t back it up. It only got worse from there. At face value, it’s just unbelievable, akin to China’s COVID death toll and infection rate. Walz has been a bumbling clown in this situation and this fake talking point he trotted out only highlighted his failed leadership. It’s a total nightmare in Minneapolis. It’s a catastrophe. Don’t make it worse by making social justice warrior-infused pivots that only lead you to crash into walls. Reality isn’t that easily scaled, circumvented, or flanked, sir.