MINNEAPOLIS — The owner of a nearly century-old tavern that was set on fire by rioters during the 2020 George Floyd riots slammed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as a “criminal” for refusing to immediately call in the National Guard and turning the city into a lawless zone.
Bill Hupp, owner of the Hexagon Bar in the Seward area, Destruction by fire The responsibility of running the family business fell squarely on Waltz’s shoulders.
“It’s a complete disregard for the people they’re supposed to represent,” the 74-year-old father of six said of Walz’s actions at the time.
“He could have called. [the guardsmen] in [but] “He didn’t,” Hupp added. “There wasn’t a drop of water in my house. Not a drop of water for three and a half days! Crazy. [a] There has been a complete loss of leadership.”
As unrest spread in the state’s largest capital, with rioters looting stores and setting fires to storefronts, Governor Walz, who had taken office the previous year and served in the National Guard for 24 years, waited an astonishing 18 hours after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey requested at least 600 National Guard troops before sending them in.
On May 25, 2020, terrifying unrest spread across the Twin Cities after local police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd.
When Governor Walz finally acted on May 28, 2020, he deployed only 100 National Guard troops, according to a condemned after-action report by the state senate and Minneapolis residents.
Here’s an update on vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s time in the military.
Those who arrived on the scene were able to do little to contain the damage wreaked across the city, including the destruction of the Hexagon Bar.
Hupp said he and his son and some of his son’s friends were boarding up the bar’s windows around 6:30 p.m. on May 28, 2020, when about 300 people surrounded the venue.
Rioters refused to allow the group to leave and began hurling frozen water bottles and shoes at them, calling them “white privilege.”
“I thought they were going to kill us. It was like they had kidnapped us,” he said, adding, “I didn’t know if I was going to get out of there.”
The group was eventually able to return home, early morning The 92-year-old facility went up in flames on May 29, 2020, after an arsonist and two accomplices threw a Molotov cocktail into the rear of the building.
“All of a sudden, everything went white,” said Hupp, who saw the devastation on surveillance camera.
All that remained was a charred brick wall.
“My house was completely burned down.”
Check out The Washington Post’s coverage of Kamala Harris’ running mate, Tim Waltz.
Walz has faced renewed scrutiny over his leadership during the worst crisis that has rocked Minneapolis in modern history since Vice President Kamala Harris named him as her Democratic running mate this week.
Governor Walz is accused of not only delaying the deployment of the National Guard, but also sharing classified information, including law enforcement plans and troop response times, with his then-teenage daughter.
Hupp demanded an apology from Walz on behalf of the community, called Harris’ decision to select him as her running mate “complete insanity” and slammed the governor as a “criminal.”
“That’s strange,” he said. “Why? [his] Total incompetence of leadership…[his] Complete ignorance of safety for people and how to properly handle them.”
“He should never have been in that position.”
Waltz’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
