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Did Gov. Walz or Trump call up National Guard in 2020 unrest?
Documents show Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was responsible for mobilizing the National Guard in wake of George Floyd’s 2020 murder and subsequent unrest.
MINNEAPOLIS — Now that Vice President Kamala Harris has officially tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her 2024 running mate, many voters want the record set straight about the timeline of events that followed in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
Still in his first term as governor on May 25, 2020, Walz was tasked with navigating the state’s official response as the city of Minneapolis erupted into what would become an international civil rights uprising over Floyd’s murder by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
As protests grew and fires broke out throughout portions of south Minneapolis and the west side of St. Paul, the National Guard was eventually deployed, mobilizing thousands of citizen soldiers across the metro.
Just over a month later on June 19, 2020, former President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter (now known as X), he was actually the one to make the call, claiming he “Forced Democrat run Minnesota to bring in the National Guard & end rioting & looting after seeing the destruction & crime in Minneapolis.”
Republicans have echoed the claim in recent days and weeks, increasingly so as Harris continued to narrow in on Walz as a potential partner for the Democratic presidential ticket.
So, what really happened? Here are the facts.
BACKGROUND
On May 25, 2020, officers responded to a call shortly after 8 p.m. about a possible counterfeit $20 bill being used at a corner store and encountered a Black man, later identified as George Floyd, who officers later handcuffed and placed face-down on the ground.
Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while bystanders shouted at him to stop. Video showed Floyd repeatedly crying “I can’t breathe” before going limp. He’s pronounced dead at a hospital.
The next day, police issued a statement claiming Floyd died after a “medical incident,” and alleged that he physically resisted and appeared to be in medical distress. Minutes later, a bystander video was posted online. Police released another statement saying the FBI would help investigate. Chauvin and three other officers — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — were fired. Protests began.
On May 27, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for criminal charges against Chauvin, leading to protests and unrest in Minneapolis and other cities.
HERE’S WHERE THE GUARD COMES IN
It was on May 28 that Gov. Tim Walz made the call to activate the Minnesota National Guard, a full mobilization for the first time in Minnesota’s 164 years of statehood.
The full mobilization meant the guard activated all soldiers deemed medically fit and not already deployed, resulting in thousands of soldiers and airmen ready to hit the streets. Walz said at the time, “protection of citizenry and protection of property is our top priority and maintaining and restoring civil order on the streets.”
KARE 11 reporter John Croman later obtained text messages and emails from a variety of Frey’s staffers, who backed up the mayor’s claim that he had requested Walz send in the Guard up to a full 24 hours before the 3rd Precinct would burn.
Walz would go on to agree he got an informal, verbal request from Mayor Frey late Wednesday, May 27, before the mayor submitted a formal, written request on the morning of Thursday, May 28. The governor maintained it took time to deploy citizen soldiers and a brand new mission with little advance notice.
“The average person maybe assumes that there’s soldiers waiting in helicopters to drop in like they do in movies,” Walz told reporters in 2020. “Actually, they’re band teachers and small business owners. They’re folks working in a garage in Fergus Falls who get a call that says you’ve got 12 hours to report to your armory.”
It was around 4 p.m. on the 28th that Walz’s office sent out an official press release, saying Walz had signed an executive order activating the Guard. About 15 minutes later, the Guard said on Twitter, “We are ready and prepared to answer the Governor’s request. We are currently in process of assigning and preparing units to respond.”
Later that evening, an e-paper trail of Tweets showed Trump threatened to send in the National Guard, posting his now-infamous line, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” A disclaimer was subsequently added to the post after the social media company deemed the language as a violation of its rules about glorifying violence.
According to KARE 11’s previous reporting, Walz had already put National Guard commanders on notice that they may need to deploy some members on Saturday, May 30 due to planned protests, but after an intense night of rioting and looting on May 27, Walz went ahead and requested the presence of Guard members on May 28, before going on to mobilizing all 15,000 members.
While Trump did post about supporting Walz’s decision should he seek military action, it wasn’t until June 2020 that Trump started making public claims about calling in troops himself.
Walz vehemently denied that Trump had anything to do with the Guard’s presence, a denial he maintains to this day — as Trump’s claims have since been vetted and debunked.
WHO IS ALLOWED TO MOBILIZE MINNESOTA’S NATIONAL GUARD?
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, the mobiliization of Minnesota’s National Guard troops is left to the governor of the state.
“The Minnesota National Guard is under state jurisdiction and can be called by the governor to assist the state during disasters or other state emergencies. The National Guard stands ready to provide units and specialists to the state to protect life and property, and preserve peace, order, and public safety.
“National Guard assistance may be provided when a situation is beyond the capacity of local, tribal, or state government to control and all civil resources have been exhausted and if required resources are not available from commercial sources. In addition, the Guard may be called when vital public services are lost and an immediate substantial threat to public health, safety or welfare is evident. Guard assistance is limited to tasks that the National Guard can perform more efficiently and effectively than any other agency.”
Only under three circumstances is the federal government, i.e. the president, allowed to make the call:
- At the request of a state
- To enforce federal law
- To protect civil rights. This provision authorizes the president to use the military to suppress “any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy” if local law enforcement is unable to provide sufficient protection. It doesn’t require the request — or permission — of the state
With that being said, it is a fact, that no, former President Donald Trump did not order mobilization of the Minnesota National Guard in response to the murder of George Floyd and subsequent unrest.
Official data proves Gov. Tim Walz, a National Guard veteran himself, was responsible for deploying soldiers to Minneapolis and surrounding communities.
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
The organizations say many Asian Americans are planning to vote despite lack of candidate outreach.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Most people have been contacted in some way shape or form by a campaign in the last few weeks. And if the polls are right and the race for president is a dead heat, every vote will matter.
That’s why this is a head scratcher:
According to a September 2024 voter survey by Asian American Pacific Islander Data, 27% of Asian-American voters said they hadn’t been contacted by either political party trying to get their vote. Last spring, earlier in the voting season, it was even more – 42%.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial or ethnic group nationwide.
Their voter participation levels are growing too, with 60% of eligible Asian-American voters turning out in 2020. And AAPI Data reports as many as 90% of Asian Americans they surveyed said they plan to vote this cycle.
“Candidates are not reaching out to Asian Americans, which is a huge mistake,” said ThaoMee Xiong, executive and networking director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders.
She says even though there are more than 200,000 eligible Asian voters in Minnesota, the Asian vote is under-appreciated.
“Neither the Democratic or Republican parties have been reaching out in huge numbers,” Xiong said. “They’re sending general mailers to everyone but … they need it in their native language.”
That’s why CAAL is partnering with two more organizations to keep voter turnout high and reach anyone candidates or advocates missed.
Xor Xiong is from Asian American Organizing Project, which focuses on engaging metro-area teens and young adults.
“Many of our communities are still facing barriers to go to vote,” he said. “There’s been more times than I like to admit in terms of when I was having a conversation over the phones of voters being surprised that they can take time off to go and vote, or they can bring the kids to the polling locations, or they can even bring someone to translate for them.”
“In Ramsey County, because of the large Hmong American population there, the polls in Ramsey County are federally required to provide interpreters and translated materials,” ThaoMee added.
Their nonpartisan campaign, Get Out the Vote for Asian Minnesotans, aims to get people registered and well-informed.
“Throughout Covid, there was a lot of anti-hate around the AAPI community and we are still feeling the impact of that to this day,” said Amanda Xiong, a community organizer with a group known as CAPI USA. “Even if folks are afraid to go to the polls, due to that, we try our best to then educate them around absentee ballots, voting early.”
“And so yes, there is a huge increase in terms of voter turnout, but then why is it still 70% feel as though they don’t belong?”
In 2021, the FBI reported a 168% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.
In Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, the groups knocked on at least 700 doors in one session alone while keeping safety top of mind.
“We make sure that there’s a car following all the door knockers,” ThaoMee said. “We put everyone on text chain … and we are putting a lot of precautionary measures in place for the day of voting.”
After the election, the CAAL plans to conduct surveys and send the results to county election officials. They’ve done this before and say it led to policy changes this year at the legislature including measures to ensure people have easier access to interpreters.
Suspect “led us to the evidence” in Montana camper’s brutal killing, initially thought to have been bear attack
Long Prairie, MN school board dismisses its superintendent, the latest controversy in this small town
Snow and rain on Halloween
Suspect “led us to the evidence” in Montana camper’s brutal killing, initially thought to have been bear attack
Long Prairie, MN school board dismisses its superintendent, the latest controversy in this small town