By Thursday, May 28, 2020, riots had plagued the city of Minneapolis for more than three days. Black Lives Matter rioters focused much of their attention on the Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd Precinct because it housed Officer Derek Chauvin, who was later convicted of murdering George Floyd.
Rioters stormed the 3rd Precinct on May 25, the day after the video of George Floyd being arrested by Chauvin went viral, and continued to attack until the police, who were stretched thin, were ordered to evacuate the building on Thursday. As footage of their retreat and the fire that consumed the front of the police station was broadcast in the US media, many people asked: “Where are the Minnesota National Guard?”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) has received justified criticism for his response to the widespread riots, but the decision to deploy the National Guard in a state rests with either the president or the governor.
“The fall of the Third Precinct and the damage to the surrounding areas set the tone for the rest of the country during that turbulent period.”
In 2020, Frey Star Tribune Gov. Tim Walz (D) and his administration hesitated as the situation across from St. Paul continued to worsen. “We communicated the seriousness of the situation. The urgency was clear,” Frey said of a call he had with Walz on Wednesday, May 27.[Walz] “I didn’t say yes. I said I’d consider it.”
Frey said he asked the governor’s office whether his verbal request to deploy the National Guard was considered a formal request. Walz’s office said it was, but then walked back, saying the state needed a plan for how to use the troops.
In a group chat with Frey’s office staff, it was said that Governor Walz was “hesitant” to deploy the National Guard.
“Not only was Waltz an accomplice, but many members of the Minneapolis Police Department believe he was one of the main reasons one of their police stations burned down and had to be abandoned in 2020,” a Minneapolis police officer who worked during the BLM riots told Blaze Media.
The Minnesota National Guard was fully deployed on Friday, May 29, the day after the 3rd Precinct was evacuated and burned. However, orders were clear to keep them from engaging with the mob as much as possible. This became evident when a curfew was announced for those gathered at the National Guard and police perimeter near the 3rd Precinct. With the announcement of the curfew, the crowd began attacking the security perimeter. Instead of holding out, the National Guard and police withdrew completely from the area, using tear gas in their retreat.
The mob again took control of the area around the 3rd Precinct, chased police down Lake Avenue and attempted, but failed, to burn down the 5th Precinct. The mob instead turned their attention to looting and burning buildings along the remainder of Lake Street.
The fall of the 3rd Precinct and the damage to the surrounding area set the tone for the rest of the country during this tumultuous time: it signaled to far-left figures that with enough pressure and numbers, they could force America’s police officers to abandon their stations.
That strategy was largely replicated in Seattle a few days later, when then-Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) ordered the Seattle Police Department to leave the East Precinct after days of rioting outside, giving birth to the infamous “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” also known as the “Occupy Capitol Hill” protests.
“If there’s a silver lining to this, [Walz] “His nomination will allow the rest of the county, and the world, to finally hear the truth about his complete failure of leadership and abandonment of police officers during the 2020 riots,” a Minneapolis police officer told Blaze Media.
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