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VERIFY: Did Gov. Walz respond too slowly in the 2020 unrest?
Here’s a timeline of events from that week and what two investigations concluded regarding local and state leadership following the riots.
MINNEAPOLIS — How Minnesota Governor Tim Walz handled the Minneapolis riots following the murder of George Floyd is now under the national microscope, after Vice President Kamala Harris named him as her running mate in the 2024 election.
Former President Donald Trump initially praised Governor Walz’s handling of the riots during a June 1, 2020 phone call, but Trump’s campaign is now vilifying it, claiming Walz “allowed Minneapolis to burn for days.”
Here’s a timeline of events from that week and what two investigations concluded regarding local and state leadership following the riots.
Monday, 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.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
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. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao — were fired. Protests began.
Hundreds gathered to grieve and protest in the streets of south Minneapolis. Some threw bottles at police and targeted vandalism at the 3rd Precinct police building. Tear gas was deployed by police, and the crowd dispersed at night.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
On Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for criminal charges against Chauvin, leading to protests and unrest in Minneapolis and other cities across the country.
Peaceful protests during the day were overshadowed by violence and looting at night. A Target store was ransacked and looted. An AutoZone and 15 other buildings burned. During the chaos, a man was shot and killed outside a store.
A state senate investigation from October 2020, shows Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Governor Tim Walz at 6:29 p.m. Wednesday asking to send in the National Guard.
In an interview with KARE 11 the Monday following Floyd’s death, Mayor Frey said, “That second I hung up the phone with chief, and I called the governor and I asked for the National Guard.”
This was corroborated by text messages between mayoral staffers.
A screen grab of a text from Frey aide Mychal Vlatkovich, dated 6:28 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27 reads:
“Mayor just came out and said the chief wants him to call in the National Guard for help at Third Precinct. Mayor appears intent on doing, talking w/ Mark.”
In another exchange with mayoral staff at 8:05 p.m., someone asks Vlatkovich, “What’s happening? As far as the Guard.”
He responds, “He said Walz was hesitating.”
The mayor’s staff went as far as drafting an press release at 9:00 p.m. that same night, announcing that Frey was requesting the National Guard. That release was never sent. According to sources at City Hall, Mayor Frey didn’t want to appear like he was using the media to pressure Walz.
At 9:11 that night, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo sent a four-part plan requesting 600 MN National Guard troops to state Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington.
Harrington later said in interviews that the request was too vague.
The governor agreed he got an informal, verbal request from Mayor Frey late Wednesday and a written request on the morning Thursday, May 28.
The governor has consistently said it takes 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 the next week. “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.”
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Thursday morning, Walz preemptively told the Guard to get ready.
By 2:30 p.m., through executive action, the governor officially activated the Guard.
The first contingents of troops arrived Thursday in the late afternoon and evening, and took up positions defending the State Capitol, St. Paul Police Department headquarters and the BCA offices. Some units were also assigned to escort firefighters battling blazes set by arsonists.
Major General Jon Jensen, who was at the time Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard, say his forces didn’t go to the 3rd Precinct immediately on that Thursday, because they were awaiting more specific instructions from the Minneapolis Police Department.
He said the guard members always act in support of local civilian authorities, rather than just picking their own mission.
“It’s very important we know exactly what we’re being asked to do so we make sure we have the right equipment, we mobilize the right number of soldiers and airmen to support those soldiers that are going to conduct the mission,” Gen. Jensen told reporters May 29. “We never got such mission assignment. We never got such mission description.”
That night, protesters surrounded the Police Third Precinct building. The mayor ordered police to evacuate.
The building was breached and burned. Some officers sent goodbye messages in case they didn’t make it out. Fires and chaos spread for miles.
Friday, May 29, 2020
By Friday morning, the governor publicly blamed the mayor.
“The way this works is the mayors ask, and they take charge and lead on the missions,” said Walz. “If this would have been executed correctly, the state would not lead on this. The state would have supported those (sic) and they would have moved forward. That did not happen.”
In a non-partisan external investigation commissioned by the city of Minneapolis, a law firm eventually found the initial requests from the mayor and the Minneapolis Police Department failed to follow the correct protocol and provide enough detail to trigger the Guard response.
Friday, troops were posted around the city. The governor said the city would not see the rioting the world witnessed in the past 48 hours. But by seven o’clock that night, guard members pulled out of the 3rd Precinct after being surrounded by a crowd. Troops were seen leading fire departments to respond to fires around Minneapolis and St. Paul. It was another night of destruction.
Conclusions
Did the governor delay critical resources? And did it make a difference? These are questions Governor Walz still hasn’t clearly addressed.
In the moment, these leaders had to decide how to apply force to a large group of people protesting the abuse of force.
Looking back, two investigations found blame on both local and state leadership.
The state senate report concluded “If Mayor Frey had acted in a decisive manner and allowed law enforcement to use nonlethal force to stop the rioters, the destruction of the Third Precinct would not have occurred, and the rioting would not have escalated as quickly as it did. If Governor Walz had acted in a decisive manner by activating the Minnesota National Guard when requested, the riots would have been brought under control much faster.”
In legislative testimony, the head of the Minnesota National Guard, Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen said, “If we had done things differently on Tuesday, as it relates to numbers, as it relates to tactics, could we have avoided some of this? My unprofessional opinion as it relates to law enforcement is ‘yes’. My professional military opinion is ‘yes’.”
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.
