Minneapolis, Minn. — Law enforcement in the Twin Cities area seem to finally have the situation under control after days of massive rioting and looting after the sunsets. Protests have been occurring daily in Minneapolis and St. Paul, along with the rest of the county, following the death of George Floyd while he was in police custody.
While protests against police brutality have been largely peaceful during the day, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday saw mass rioting and looting at night as it appeared law enforcement did not have the manpower to stop the widespread crimes being committed.
That all changed Saturday evening as police and the National Guard came out in force to enforce the 8:00 p.m. curfew. The police and National Guard had failed in enforcing the curfew on Friday, as they abandoned the permitter around the 3rd police precinct that had been set up in the early morning hours, once again leaving the area to rioters and looters.
Sunday saw similar events take place as there were peaceful protests during the day, but many people stayed out past curfew. Protesters initially went out onto I-35 near the U.S. Bank Stadium, where police were down the road. They did not leave until the police started using tear gas, flashbangs, and other less-than-lethal weapons.
Flash bangs and tear gas are now being used by the cops and people are starting to leave the area. Though a few are still standing their ground. pic.twitter.com/1Fa3shggWq
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) June 1, 2020
The biggest difference from Saturday was how police were able to sweep in and trap those who continued to defy the curfew order. They were then able to arrest them. The Minneapolis Police were aided by Minnesota State Patrol, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, and the Minnesota National Guard.
Police have surrounded the protesters on all sides and have swooped in and I believe they're starting to make arrests. Had to escape the area with other members of the press. The air is heavy with tear gas. pic.twitter.com/OVnHBpBPfE
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) June 1, 2020
As the cops encircled the protestors who got arrested by the 35W onramp, @Julio_Rosas11 and I experienced first hand how effectivly the crowd was contained. You can see here we tried to dip outside the police perimeter only to be met with non lethal ordinance fired from the 35W pic.twitter.com/wFfJHlGEoK
— Kyle Hooten (@KyleHooten2) June 1, 2020
While it appears order has been restored in the Twin Cities, and specifically Minneapolis, it came too little too late for parts of the area. According to Fox 9, over 200 businesses had been damaged or destroyed by Sunday, including many that had completely burned down.