Governor Walz Tells Protesters To 'Go Home' As Rioting Continues

MINNEAPOLIS, MN ­– Despite a largely ignored 8 p.m. curfew put into place by Gov. Tim Walz, violent unrest continued in Minneapolis for a fourth straight night on Friday and into early Saturday morning, with protesters demonstrating against the police-involved death of George Floyd on Memorial Day.

The latest round of protests broke out at the end of a day when Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer seen on video with his knee on Floyd's neck during the arrest, was charged with third-degree murder. Despite the charges, rioters continued to set fires, loot retail businesses and shoot at police officers late Friday night, according to media reports.

Yet, according to reports, law enforcement presence was almost undetectable in some areas as violence began shortly before midnight and spread into Saturday, stemming from Floyd’s death on Monday when he was detained on suspicion of passing a counterfeit bill.

In other areas around the city, hundreds of police officers, state police troopers and members of the National Guard – some traveling in armored vehicles – told protesters to disperse and used tear gas to try to clear areas. In a tweet sent Saturday morning. Walz indicated that more than 1,000 National Guard troops and airmen would be deployed to Minneapolis on Saturday, which are in addition to the 700 that were on duty Friday night.

Walz, along with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, held a news conference at 1:30 a.m. Saturday when Walz told reporters he had spoken with members of Floyd’s family, who agreed that the scene in Minneapolis had grown counterproductive.

“The absolute chaos – this is not grieving and this is not making a statement (about injustice) that we fully acknowledge needs to be fixed,” Walz told reporters, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “This is dangerous. You need to go home.”

Walz suggested that many of the protesters had come from outside of Minnesota’s borders and included white supremacists, anarchists and members of drug cartels and that the overwhelming number of protestors had made it impossible to make “coherent arrests.”

“The terrifying thing is that this resembles more a military operation now as you observe ringleaders moving from place to place,” the governor said, adding that the enormous number of protesters made it impossible for local officials to prepare for what has overtaken Minneapolis’s streets. In response, Walz has authorized the largest deployment of National Guard members in state history.

“I will take responsibility for underestimating the wanton destruction and the sheer size of this crowd,” Walz said.

“There are simply more of them than us,” he said.

Frey again urged for peace at the early-morning press conference while sending a clear message to city residents and telling protestors that their actions were hurting local residents and not a way of “getting back” at the police.

“Minneapolis, I know you are reeling,” the Mayor said. “We as a city are so much more than this. We as a city can be so much better.”

He added: “If you have a friend or a family member that is out there right now, call them and tell them to come home. It is not safe. It is not right.”