Declaring a state of emergency on Monday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, admitted that the Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots incited by his party had resulted in the burning of “thousands” of businesses, and had threatened the citizens of his state.
“We can’t have thousands of businesses burned and people put at risk,” he said.
Over the weekend, Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters had urged BLM to become “more confrontational” – words that preceded the shooting of National Guard Troops in connection with the riots by just a few hours.
Mob violence and looting have been constant facts of life in Minnesota since the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis last May.
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Police Officer Derek Chauvin is now on trial in connection with Floyd’s death, but the evidence has steadily mounted that Floyd did not die as a result of Chauvin’s actions, which many on the left have alleged included choking Floyd with a knee against Floyd’s neck while he lay on the ground.
The autopsy report in the case showed that Floyd did not die of strangulation or choking, and had illegal drugs in his system that may have been the actual cause of his death. Video of the incident shows that he complained about being unable to breathe before any physical pressure was applied in the area of his neck, and that the “hold” that was used on him would not have caused him to suffocate.
The video also shows that officers on the scene were patient with Floyd, despite his attempts to resist arrest and refusal to follow orders he was given.
Floyd, meanwhile, had a long criminal history.
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In 2007 he broke into a pregnant woman’s home and held a gun to her abdomen, demanding that she give him money, for which he was sentenced to five years behind bars.
In 1998 he was charged with committing robbery with a deadly weapon.
He also served multiple sentences in the late 1990s and early 2000s in connection with drug possession.
