I never liked Walz. I voted for him as governor only reluctantly, because the alternative was some nasty Republican. But today his leadership was tested, and he has failed.
Gov. Tim Walz on Monday issued a curfew in Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka and Dakota counties from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. Tuesday in the wake of a night of unrest following the Sunday death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man shot and killed by police in Brooklyn Center.
As they announced the curfews, state and city leaders tried to strike a balance: acknowledging that Wright’s death had caused immense pain but also telling people they wouldn’t tolerate violence.
“For those who choose to go out … to exploit these tragedies for destruction or personal gain, you can rest assured that the largest police presence in Minnesota history in coordination will be prepared,” Walz said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
“You will be arrested. You will be charged. And there will be consequences for those actions,” the governor said.
His response to the continuing abuse of their authority by the police is to empower the police still further, give them justification for further violence, and threaten the citizens who have been harmed.
Well, fuck you too, Governor.
I think he is speaking to the far right assholes (boogie boyz) who descended on the Twin Cities urban core in the wake of the George Floyd murder.
We are still repairing all the burned out small businesses and shattered windows.
Tethys, If you think the boogie boyz burned down minneapolis you are seriously misinformed. Liberals keep voting for loons like Walz, so you can’t complain about your communist state. Thats what you wanted.
“But also telling people they wouldn’t tolerate violence.”
Try telling that to the goddamned murdering pigs!
@freedombyter, a boogoloo boy was videoed breaking windows and setting fires and is currently in custody awaiting trial on arson charges. They’re just one group that I’ve been tracking the activities and plans of.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogaloo_movement#Acts_during_George_Floyd_and_Black_Lives_Matter_protests
@PZ, frankly, I’d have instituted a curfew as well. One police station was attacked with bottles and stones and that could’ve spiraled out of control swiftly.
At least now, the press is demanding answers and not accepting doubletalk and evasion. I just watched part of a press conference that the police chief bailed in the middle of, the mayor and managing director being pinned down heavily with tough questions neither were prepared for and the chief was summoned back to address the press. Shortly after, the officer who fired, killing Mr Wright was made available, unedited.
If I was responding and assisting, I’d have turned and pushed that officer back while stating clearly that her Glock is not a Taser. How the officer confused the 36 ounce firearm from a half pound Taser, each having entirely different sighting systems is beyond my comprehension.
It was a confusing scene, in large part because of ill coordinated actions performed by every officer present. Instead of one being in command, all were doing their own thing, turning a straightforward warrant demanded arrest into a cat herding operation.
The press reallly need to keep the heat on, as this shit has got to stop yesterday!
We know a cop started the property destruction in Minneapolis last summer by breaking the windows of an auto parts store.
We know a Boogie Boi set a fire in a police station and another (or the same one? I can’t remember all the names) shot multiple bullets at that police station while it was burning. If I understand correctly, the fire-setting boogie boi wasn’t the only one to start (or maybe spread?) the fire in the police station, but as far as I know none of the others were identified.
I’m sure local, non-Boogie-Bois were involved, but since it’s the Boogie Bois and their fellow travelers that have explicitly embraced accelerationism and murdered cops (or was it one murdered, one shot but survived?) in Oakland, California to try to spread violence and hasten (what they believe to be) the inevitable end of civilization, it would only make sense for cops to aim their biggest guns at right wingers and BoogieBois, including at least a few of their own.
Oh look, a troll has emerged to tell me of liberal communists.
Odd that those non-booger boyz are currently in prison for that not arson. Only a maga would believe Minneapolis was burned down. A few small businesses that were immediately adjacent to freeway off ramps were destroyed by the siege of arseholes, and one corrupt police station. We are fine with the police station.
The right wingnut terrorists are known to exploit protests to make them a lot more violent.
These guys in California killed two police officers and wounded 3 others less than a year ago.
“Carrillo used the George Floyd protests as a cover to attack police officers, according to the FBI.[4] “
Consequences for cop?
I know at least 4 b-boi dolts are in custody awaiting trial for last years arson. None are local to Minneapolis.
Just 5 days ago a St. Cloud boogie was arrested by the FBI for illegal machine gun possession. seditious idiot arrested
St. Cloud is an hours drive north of the Twin Cities, and so racist it’s commonly known as white cloud.
boogaloo boy hunter says,“I’ve burned police stations with Black Panthers in Minneapolis,” he claimed in one message, and in another, “The BLM protesters in Minneapolis loved me.”
3 boogaloo boys were charged…ok 3 that aren’t leftist….what about the rest, your all talking in half truths, 90 percent in riots are liberals, 10 percent anarchist.
Just wait till the communist take over America by stacking the courts and taking guns away, you liberals think the minneapolis riots were something. Wait till the average American gets involved.
Oh, we average residents of Minneapolis were waiting for the fascists with cudgels at the ready by night three.
However, the combined police forces herded them into a trap and a fleet of paddy wagons.
Bye-bye, freedombyter, I have a zero-tolerance policy for fascist apologists.
Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, endorsed what he described as a “coordinated, powerful set of reforms” that would revamp oversight and disciplinary procedures, fund community groups that could act as alternatives to the police and put the state attorney general in charge of investigating officers who use lethal force.
How are those reforms coming, Tim?
People trapped inside → fewer outside for cops to murder → cops more sad
They can still bust down your doors for no reason, but that takes more effort, which also makes cops sad.
I’m deeply concerned that Minneapolis is going to see a lot of the same cop tactics that Portland saw last summer: use of noise weapons, indiscriminate chemical warfare with substances that the cops refuse to disclose, attacks on peaceful demonstrations, the works.
@microraptor – there are already surveillance camera and cell IMSI catcher drones. They started them when George Floyd was murdered. These are drones with cameras good enough for facial recognition. Sites that track aircraft serial numbers are on the case.
I’ve been watching Unicorn Riot’s on-the-ground coverage for hours now. Continuously. I can tell you that there have been a ton of chemical munitions fired already – probably hundreds, but at least scores. Yes, those attacks targeted peaceful protesters. There were protesters that were throwing firecrackers & tiny fireworks like bottle rockets (though I din’t know if they were actual bottle rockets), but as far as I can tell they didn’t throw them at anyone, including the cops. That might make them annoying to people trying to sleep, but it doesn’t make them violent. But even if those few technically qualified as “violent”, the vast majority of protesters were not doing that, and they were targets of the chemical munitions anyway.
Even if you want to spin it in the most favorable possible way for the cops, they clearly attacked peaceful protesters.
I feel for you all. This was Portland, OR last summer. We held a march for Daunte Write today BTW. Police declared it a riot about two hours ago. How many times do we have to do this before we get it through to them? WE ARE ANGRY! STOP KILLING PEOPLE! DE-MILITARIZE THE POLICE! Sorry, I’m still a bit hot over the whole thing.
@#4 wzrd1
And if I was Superman I would just fly in at the speed of light and block the bullets with my body of steel! And then give the officer a stern talking to!
But I guess if you want to make an omlett (inflict pain to terrorize people) you have to break some eggs (accidentaly kill someone).
Remember when a black policeman accidentally shot a white woman? The shoe on the other foot is about to drop.
I can’t fault Walz for the curfew. As many have rightly noted, provocateurs (and common criminals) have taken advantage of unrest in previous cases to commit acts of property damage which have been used to discredit protesters. And this happens after dark, for obvious reasons. Peaceful demonstrations can happen before 6:00, there’s no particular reason why having them at night makes a more effective statement, and it invites trouble which is good for nobody. Maybe there are good arguments against it but it certainly doesn’t strike me as outrageous.
So fundamental political change at one hand is the only way to avoid the choice between “nasty” and “fuck you too” but at the other hand is going nowhere as long as the “fuck you too” candidates can count on your votes. A non-racist police in the USA will remain a fata morgana this way.
Good thing that I think it funny when I get chastized for pointing out stuff like this, isn’t it, KG ao?
“I believe the Republicans have never thought that democracy was anything but a tribal myth.”
Hunter S. Thompson
I don’t dispute that there are assholes exploiting the current tension. I’m appalled at the looting of the dollar store, for instance. But yes. There’s a reason demonstrations happen after 6:00 pm.
People have jobs. There is an awful large lot of folks who need to work during the day but who – for some weird reason – are not less pissed off about someone in their community being killed than people who don’t work during the day. While there is no time of day when no one is working, evening is the best time for the largest number of people. In turn, that means the largest crowds happen with an evening protest. If they chose another time, the full outrage of the community would not be expressed.
This is not to say that all curfews are unjust or wrong or whatever. This is only addressing your statement that “there’s no particular reason why having them at night makes a more effective statement”. There is a reason it’s more effective: more people are available to show up.
cervantes:
It strikes me as something that’s been normalized for so long that some are no longer outraged by it. We have first amendment rights that should be supported and protected. There must be an extremely compelling justification for doing anything which contradicts this and violates some of our basic rights as human beings. If the best you’ve got is “I’m feeling a little nervous about the idea that maybe a bad thing could happen,” that’s definitely not enough.
Curfew at 7pm — yes, well COVID is pretty serious.
Oh wait. To prevent demonstrations about police violence?
When I was a younger man I had a dream of moving to Alaska. The last frontier and all that. I had recently moved from Pensacola, Florida to Columbus, Ohio for a new job. That first winter didn’t end until mid-May. I was still scraping the ice off of my car when the first flowers were blooming. I was miserable and bitching every day about the weather. My then girlfriend, now wife, knew of my Alaska dreams and asked, “You still want to go there? You obviously hate the cold.” I wanted to say yes, but in my heart I knew better. I’ve yet to set foot in Alaska.