Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison dismissed assertions made by President Trump and Attorney General William Barr over the weekend that radical left-wing groups are behind looting and violent riots seen in Minneapolis and other cities across the country.
“I think they are operating based on political considerations, not facts,” Ellison said Monday.
On Saturday, as largely peaceful demonstrations in nearly a dozen U.S. cities protesting the death of George Floyd in police custody turned violent, Barr said local officials in Minnesota and elsewhere indicated loosely organized anti-government groups have infiltrated Black Lives Matter demonstrations with the sole purpose of stirring violence.
Police said separately there is also evidence of far-right white nationalist activists looking to cause similar harm amid the chaos.
On Sunday, Trump said his administration plans to declare antifa, a rising left-wing group, a terrorist organization.
“With the rioting that is occurring in many of our cities around the country, the voices of peaceful and legitimate protests have been hijacked by violent radical elements,” Barr said in a statement Sunday. “Groups of outside radicals and agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate, violent, and extremist agenda.”
Ellison, and other law enforcement officials in Minnesota, said they plan to prosecute any individuals who take part in violence or destruction of property during the demonstrations.
“There is tape, videotape, of very, very suspicious-looking people, not a part of the protest. They aren’t carrying signs. They’re not handing out leaflets. They’re not chanting slogans,” Ellison said. “They’re wearing all black, they are wearing masks, and they are breaking things and throwing incendiary devices around. They’ve been doing it throughout the night. And I am saying that we need to get an investigation on the identity of these individuals.”
The protests, which started in Minneapolis, were sparked by Floyd’s death last Monday. Floyd, who video shows never resisted arrest, died in police custody after former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during his arrest.
On the now widely shared video, Floyd is heard pleading with Chauvin to get off, telling him, “I can’t breathe,” and calling for his mother. Chauvin, who has been charged with third-degree murder, and three other officers were fired days later.
It was announced Sunday that Ellison will be prosecuting the case against Chauvin and left open the possibility of charges being brought against the three other officers involved in last week’s incident.
The Floyd case has galvanized the black community in the United States, members of whom say they are fed up with police brutality and living life in constant fear of being killed by police.
Ellison said their cause is justified.
“The protesters are protesting for justice for George Floyd,” he said. “They have been peaceful. But these other folks who have another agenda, and I don’t know where they’re from, and I don’t know what their ideology is, have been active, but we know they’re there, and we need to learn a whole lot more about them.”
