Massive deployment of Minnesota National Guard aims to quell Twin Cities riots

The Minnesota National Guard rolled through the Twin Cities on Saturday in its biggest deployment since World War II as Gov. Tim Walz sought to bring a show of strength sufficient to put an end to days of lawless rampage following the death of George Floyd.

Under criticism for failing to stop the chaos sooner, Walz all but declared war as he and other state and civic leaders begged peaceful protesters to go home before an 8 p.m. curfew Saturday to separate themselves from rioters on the streets.

But peaceful protests turned tense after curfew when crowds continued to march and officers moved toward large groups, spraying them with pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets.

The National Guard moved in aggressively against all demonstrators in the area of Nicollet and Franklin avenues, throwing tear gas bombs and effectively dispersing much of the crowd.

Police started making arrests there, as well as several blocks away at 28th and Grand Avenue "for gun violations" where an AR-15 was confiscated, Minneapolis police said.

West St. Paul Police tweeted that officers were responding to reports of shots fired and had been stopping vehicles, most with no license plates, but said later that there was no immediate threat to the public.

Efforts to take back the streets came after a fourth night of protests demanding change after the death of Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffed black man who stopped breathing after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for 8½ minutes Monday night. Bystanders captured the scene on video, which quickly went viral on the internet. Floyd was transported to a hospital, where he died.

"Our cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are under assault," Walz had said, suggesting that a growing number of rioters were coming from outside the city, and possibly outside the state, in what he called "an organized attempt to destabilize civil society."

Walz authorized the National Guard to "fully activate," dramatically increasing force numbers from the 500 initially brought in to 4,100 by Saturday night. Eventually, up to 10,800 soldiers and airmen could be deployed.

Walz said he did not rule out accepting federal help in the form of troops.

Saturday night, a large crowd outside the Fifth Precinct building had remained just before the curfew. As officers stood watch from behind a reinforced fence, three women said they had no intentions of abiding by it.

"Look at them," said one who identified herself as 21-year-old Maya, but declined to give her last name as she looked at the officers. "They're not here to protect us."

Outside the Third Precinct building, which arsonists burned earlier in the week, two black men wearing shirts with a fist said they had driven in from Oklahoma City to participate in the backlash after seeing the video of Floyd. They identified themselves as Joe Thomas and "John Doe."

"We are not standing down," Thomas said just before 8 p.m. "I just hope they know that."

He said the protests are about more than Floyd. "We want justice for our black people, it's like constant, it's not just him. It's Eric Garner. People get killed jogging. I mean, come on."

Rick Nelson, a lifelong Minnesotan, walked the intersection of Minnehaha and Lake as dusk fell scanning for out-of-state license plates. The 29-year-old south Minneapolis resident vowed not to allow outsiders to continue destroying his neighborhood: "What's left of it anyway," said Nelson, who lives in an apartment building one block from Third Precinct headquarters.

"The point has been made. I want justice for George, too," he said. "But I'm sick of seeing it burn."

Authorities said they made about 40 arrests Friday night into Saturday morning in Minneapolis and St. Paul, mostly for burglary, curfew violations and destruction of property. Hennepin County jail logs showed detainees from Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois and Alaska.

It was not clear if the outside groups suspected to be playing a part in the mayhem were made up of white supremacist agitators, left-wing anarchists, or both.

State Attorney General Keith Ellison, calling for Minnesota protesters to go home before curfew, said the agitators were destroying their message seeking changes.

"We know that the noble, just aims of the protesters are righteous and good," Ellison said. "But we also know that some evil elements are literally interfusing themselves with the protests to destroy and cause arson so that the whole community will have a low opinion of the protest. Because they're not for justice for Mr. Floyd, they're against it."

Before the curfew Saturday, thousands of people spent a crisp, sunny morning and afternoon with brooms, shovels, buckets and garbage bags on Minneapolis' Lake Street, where much of the damage was inflicted the night before.

"We're hoping that we can help clean up the neighborhood," she said. "Clean up our communities and build everything stronger than it was before."

People brought bags and shopping carts full of groceries and other supplies to various spots in the city, an offering of help for local residents after nearby stores had been looted and burned.

Thousands also gathered in mostly peaceful daytime demonstrations.

An estimated 6,000 gathered outside the Fifth Precinct police station at 31st Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis, where demonstrators chanted "Arrest all four," referring to the other three officers who were fired from their jobs after helping detain Floyd, but who have not been arrested or charged with a crime.

Protests spilled over to the south Minneapolis home of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

The words, "Justice for George" were scrawled in chalk on Freeman's front doorsteps. "Black Lives Matter" signs were placed on his front windows.

More than a dozen mothers of black men described police violence as the chanted their sons' names and screamed, "Not one more."

"If it weren't for George Floyd, no one would be listening to us," said Amity Dimock, who said her 21-year-old son was a victim of police violence.

As the crowd disbanded about 6 p.m., protesters ripped plants from Freeman's front yard and broke one of his basement windows.

Staff writers Chris Serres, Ryan Faircloth, Miguel Otárola, Torey Van Oot, Briana Bierschbach, Andy Mannix, Chao Xiong and Paul Walsh contributed to this report.

Patrick Condon • 612-673-4413 patrick.condon@startribune.com