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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMinneapolis prepares for protests and civil unrest during Derek Chauvin murder trial next month
https://minnesotareformer.com/2021/02/17/minneapolis-prepares-for-protests-and-civil-unrest-during-derek-chauvin-murder-trial-next-month/The plan includes bringing in as many as 1,100 additional police officers from 12 different law enforcement agencies, as well as 2,000 National Guard troops. Some roads will be closed downtown and barricades have already started to go around City Hall, just across the street from the courthouse where Chauvin will be tried.
As weve seen in so many other cities, as we lead into trials involving Black men who have been killed by police officers, theres great frustration, theres anxiety, theres trauma, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said during a Wednesday news conference. It is on us to honor the magnitude of this moment and ensure that our families in this city feel safe.
Following the killing of Floyd last May, looting and arson broke out amid widespread protests, leading to more than $350 million in property damage by city estimates. Minnesota Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have provided aid to businesses affected by the riots, and FEMA denied a request from the governor for rebuilding assistance.
sboatcar
(408 posts)If something like this was happening in any other part of the state, republicans would be falling all over themselves to send in as many soldiers as they could and to fund this as much as they could. They seem to be wanting to punish the city leadership for cutting the police budget, but who they're more likely punishing is the people who actually live here.
I can see the third precinct police station, which was the epicenter of the rioting and violence this summer, from my living room window. The lack of quick reaction by authorities on all levels let things get way out of hand and we all lived in fear for days, not because of the protestors, but because of the troublemakers who came out after dark to cause trouble and start things on fire.
I'm glad to see that the national guard has been called in just in case. I imagine that there will be plenty of angry protesting (most of if righteous and justifiied), but what I am worried about is the troublemakers who come in from other places specifically to cause chaos and try to change the narrative from a horrible injustice that happened that cost a man who was trying to turn his life around his life to the omnipresent right wing 'look at all those people of color, violently burning down their neighborhoods'.
The trauma I went through in having all of this stuff happening literally a hundred feet from my house is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. Lets hope that things stay peaceful and Minneapolis doesn't take another big beating both literally and in the media.
Blue Owl
(49,902 posts)Somehow I have a feeling that motherfucker is gonna skate free after murdering George Floyd