An overwhelmed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Saturday that he has reached out to the Pentagon for help in controlling the growing mobs of out-of-state agitators seeking to “break the back of civil society” in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
The Democratic governor said Defense Secretary Mike Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley are providing intelligence assistance as local and state law enforcement find themselves woefully outnumbered by the rioters, despite the largest deployment of the Minnesota National Guard in state history.
“Over the last 72 hours, these folks have brought more destruction and more terror to Minnesota than anybody in our history,” said Mr. Walz at a press conference at the State Emergency Operations Center in St. Paul. “That’s who we’re up against.”
He declared that the protests are no longer about Mr. Floyd’s death or racial inequality, noting that minority-owned businesses, communities and non-profits have been hard hit by the rioting.
“Let’s be very clear, the situation in Minneapolis is no longer in any way about the murder of George Floyd. It is about attacking civil society, instilling fear and disrupting our great cities,” said Mr. Walz.
The Pentagon ordered the Army to place on alert several active-duty U.S. military police units after President Trump spoke with Mr. Esper about military options to subdue the unrest in Minneapolis-St. Paul, according to the Associated Press.
Minnesota isn’t alone. The peaceful protest crowds that assembled to decry the death of Mr. Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes, have been replaced by rioting mobs wrecking destruction on major cities nationwide.
Police tangled Friday night with increasingly violent crowds in Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Houston, New York City and Oakland, California, where two federal security officers were gunned down in front of the Oakland Federal Building, and one later died.
The Twin Cities saw more destruction Friday night as buildings, cars and other property were vandalized, looted and burned by tens of thousands of curfew-defying protesters, who swamped the 2,500 officers assembled to quell the unrest.
Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said that the “little group that started out embedding themselves into George Floyd’s memorial service is no longer a little group.”
“It is in fact the group throwing projectiles, throwing batteries, firing into crowds, setting fires, attacking firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, sheriff’s department, and national guardsmen as they seek to provide safety,” said Mr. Harrington.
The governor said that about 80% of the violent agitators are from outside Minnesota, organizing through the dark web and other platforms, and warned that they will see the increased law-enforcement presence as a challenge.
“The people listening do not see this as a deterrent, they are not somehow searching their soul, deciding that this is stupid and destructive and wrong what they did,” Mr. Walz said. “This is the challenge they were looking for. The call will go out to join, and the call will be there to try to break the back of civil society.”
More than 1,000 additional Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen are activating today. This is in addition to the 700 that were on duty as of late last night. This represents the largest domestic deployment in the Minnesota’s National Guard’s 164-year history. pic.twitter.com/aV9NOFv5uo
— MN National Guard (@MNNationalGuard) May 30, 2020
Who are the agitators? Mr. Harrington said authorities are trying to track down the groups fomenting the unrest, but that among those who may be involved are white nationalists, organized crime and drug cartels.
Photos and video posted online indicate that a number of left-wing groups are active in the protests, including antifa, Democratic Socialists of America and Black Lives Matter, although which organizations are responsible for the violence is unclear.
“They are adapting, they are receiving information together, they are being fed by professionals in this and professional tactics in urban warfare,” said Mr. Walz. “Those types of things are happening with these people. They are getting what they want. They are getting on TV. They are seeing the images.”
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said about 20 people were arrested in his city, and he was told that they were all from out of state, accusing them of taking advantage of Mr. Floyd’s death “to advocate for the destruction of our community.”
“We will not accept George Floyd’s death and we will not accept the destruction of our communities either,” said Mr. Carter. “They are not in conflict.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.