The chairwoman of the Minnesota Republican Party called on Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to resign amid a string of protests over the death of George Floyd.
Jennifer Carnahan, the party’s chair, released a statement early Saturday morning accusing the state’s political leaders of standing idly by as protesters burnt down buildings and protested late into the night for the fourth consecutive night.
“For four straight nights we have helplessly watched our neighborhood businesses be looted and destroyed, we’ve watched as violent protesters have rioted in our streets and forced public transport and major thoroughfares to shut down, and we have watched our city burn to the ground,” she said, according to KIMT News.
“Governor Walz and Mayor Frey have been largely silent, other than a handful of unhelpful tweets and press conferences blaming everyone, but themselves. Minneapolis is decimated. Minneapolis is damaged to a level we never could have imagined. The destruction caused this past week will unfortunately live in our memories forever. It’s a dark stain on our state,” Carnahan added. “These gentleman have demonstrated they are not equipped to run Minneapolis or Minnesota. Their inaction has led to riots across our country. Our state can not move forward or start to heal with either in office. We call for the resignation of both, so no additional harm and damage comes to our people and state.”
Walz, in a press conference early Saturday morning, accused the protesters of no longer representing Floyd, a black man who died in police custody earlier this week.
“This is not grieving, and this is not making a statement … this is life-threatening, dangerous to the most well-qualified forces to deal with this,” Walz stated. “This is not about George’s death. This is about chaos being caused.”
After getting handcuffed, an officer pinned Flynn to the ground by keeping his knee on Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly said he could not breathe. Video of the incident, taken by a bystander, led to outrage and protests throughout the country.
Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes to restrain him until he was unresponsive.
