Jail records indicate that a significant majority of protesters who have been arrested in Minneapolis are from the state of Minnesota, which contradicts earlier claims from state leaders.
The online Hennepin County Jail log shows that 45 people were arrested on Friday and Saturday so far and that 38 of those people have addresses within the state, according to public records reviewed by Fox 9. However, the records contradict statements made by a number of Minnesota legislators who blamed the apparent increase in tension on out-of-state bad actors but only viewing jail records could misconstrue the demographics of all the protesters in the state.
“They are not from our state, and they’re coming from the outside,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said, according to USA Today. “We cannot move forward when people are burning down our city.”
Gov. Tim Walz said during a press conference on Saturday that rough estimates indicate that about 20% of protesters are Minnesotans, and the rest are from other areas. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said in the morning conference, “What we’re seeing now is a group of people who are not from here. We don’t know these folks.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also alleged that the protests, which are in response to the death of George Floyd, were originally protesters trying to honor Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed while in police custody, but have been overrun by “white supremacists, members of organized crime, out of state instigators, and possibly even foreign actors to destroy and destabilize our city and our region.”
We are now confronting white supremacists, members of organized crime, out of state instigators, and possibly even foreign actors to destroy and destabilize our city and our region.
— Mayor Jacob Frey (@MayorFrey) May 30, 2020
Similarly. Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar referenced the same the claim in a statement calling for Minneapolis residents to stay home.
“Right now, our grief and pain is being exploited. People primarily from outside our city are destroying black and minority-owned businesses in our city,” she said. “We can’t let them. Let us all prioritize justice for George Floyd, police reform, alongside the safety of our community and the prevention.”
Major protesting and riots have broken out in more than a dozen cities following Floyd’s death while in police custody. Floyd was killed after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, used his knee to apply pressure to Floyd’s neck to keep him pinned down. He held the unarmed man accused of a forged $20 bill in that position for about nine minutes until he was unresponsive.
Chauvin was taken into custody on Friday and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
