Tim Walz was just over a year into his first term as Minnesota governor when a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd in May 2020, sparking a generation-defining summer of global protests against police brutality and racial discrimination.
Four years later, Walz’s handling of the protests — which included widespread unrest in Minnesota’s largest cities — is under renewed scrutiny Tuesday after Vice President Kamala Harris tapped the governor as her running mate.
At least two people died during the violence in Minnesota’s Twin Cities 600 arrests The unrest built up in the early days and the riots and law enforcement response made it all the more intense A costly and destructive period of civil unrest in US history. Minneapolis and St. Paul suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage during those riots, and hundreds of buildings were heavily damaged.
Conservatives have largely blamed Walz permission Rioters would “burn Minneapolis to the ground” and jump on the deployment of National Guard troops to quell the violence.
Walz wasn’t the main authority in charge of responding to the unrest — that was the job of local officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. But the job eventually fell to him when local officials became too much to handle. Both Walz’s and Frey’s governments have taken the blame and presented their own versions of the events of those days of fury, but the full details of what happened are still not fully known.
What did Walz do during the unrest?
The main line of criticism of Walz’s response to the riots in late spring centered on the time it took to deploy the Minnesota National Guard and coordinate with other state and local officials to restore order.
Floyd was killed on May 25 and large protests followed the next day with some vandalism and police violence. By the evening of 27 May, the mostly peaceful protests had turned more violent, with looting and arson around the city. Frey, the mayor, Contact has been reported Walz that evening and asked for help from the Minnesota National Guard. Then sent to the city police chief Walz’s office Written request for 600 troopsIn addition to some other logistical notes.
Walz and his office have not signed an executive order authorizing the National Guard deployment until the next afternoon, on May 28, during which much of the city was shut down, businesses closed to prevent looting, and buildings smoldering after overnight arson. That night saw some terrible rioting, violence and arson, as well as an inexcusable scene of protest: the breaching and burning of Minneapolis police. Third Precinct Police Station. By then several hundred National Guard and Minnesota State Patrol officers had been deployed to Minneapolis, but was accused Protecting federal buildings and downtown areas of the city while escorting first responders instead of immediately going to hot spots.
Walz would later say the city didn’t specify where the troopers were to go — and state and local officials later reflected There was a breakdown in communication, coordination and understanding about how long it would take to prepare National Guard troops.
The next morning, once National Guard troops and state patrols took control of the area around the station, another lasting moment occurred: the arrest. CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew While reporting live to the police station.
In a May 29 press conference, Walz took responsibility for the State Patrol’s mismanagement of news crews, saying, “There’s no reason for anything like this to happen. Called immediately … I failed you last night.”
That press conference was also the first time Walz admitted that local officials’ response was a “failure” and that he would now lead the response. He said he had spoken with President Donald Trump and said his tweets about the “shooting” that followed the robbery were “unhelpful.” He deployed more National Guard troops and imposed a curfew. Still more violence and vandalism occurred.
The next day, Saturday, May 30, Walz fully mobilized the National Guard, spoke with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, and acknowledged that the situation had worsened because “outside agitators” had entered. religion The protests and riots in the Twin Cities would not be completely suppressed until June 7.
What followed was the blame game, and a humbling process
Throughout the protests, local and state officials clashed with each other over a lack of communication and a misunderstanding of the gravity of the situation. Frey, the mayor, goes to tell Walz confused Frey to step in and take the lead after asking for help.
“Through a very difficult situation, I spoke the truth,” Fr told the Star Tribune A few months later. “I have relayed as much information as possible to state partners. And we did what was demanded in the interest of our city.”
A Star Tribune investigation It appeared that Frey and his city government were trying to give Walz and the state Department of Public Safety “what they said they had to go forward” with the deployment of the National Guard to Minneapolis’ Third Precinct, where the unrest was concentrated.
The Star Tribune has logged and examined timestamped emails and texts Numerous correspondences were found that back up city officials’ sequence of events: That they repeatedly sought help from the state government, gave specific information and did not get immediate response. “He didn’t say yes,” Frey said of Walz. “He said he would consider it.”
The governor’s office, meanwhile, contested many of the mayor’s claims. Contrary to documents reviewed by the Star Tribune, Walz’s team argued that Frey did not immediately issue an official request and did not specify where the National Guard’s focus should be. The governor’s office also claimed that Walz acted quickly after receiving the request.
“As a 24-year veteran of the Minnesota National Guard, Governor Walz knows how much planning goes into a successful mission,” a spokesman for Walz told the Star Tribune in 2020. . He ordered the Minnesota National Guard to begin preparations Thursday morning, allowing them to deploy to both St. Paul and Minneapolis that evening, as requested by the mayors.”
At the time of the riot, state Republicans such as then-state Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka also criticized Walz’s response, saying It was a “failure of leadership” because “the governor did not take the right steps.”
Republicans are now attacking the governor’s response that he is on the VP ticket
Since Walz’s announcement, Republicans have attacked him as “weak, failed, and dangerously liberal” and specifically zeroed in on his response to the Floyd protests and their aftermath.
The racial reckoning that Floyd’s killing sparked included the rise of “police defend the police” slogans and movement predominance, with some conservatives also claiming that Walz was “soft on crime.” support the police renovation States that have banned chokeholds, created new mental health resources for police and first responders and require additional force training. And there are others in the right-wing media mixed up Specifically his response to the Floyd murder, which he was associated with “Systemic problems“with the police and”Institutionalized racism,” Walz provides excuses for violence.
In the run-up to his selection as Harris’ potential VP, Walz hasn’t faced much questioning about his response to the 2020 turmoil. But he may now face further investigation for that period. In response to questions from The New York Times On Tuesday, a Walz spokesman acknowledged the riots were “a sad time” but said Walz had “taken measures” to keep the city safe.
“The decision was made in a situation that is what it is,” Walz said of the riots press conference Earlier this month. “And I just believe we’ve tried to do the best we can in each of them.”
