Nearly 80 rioters were arrested in the Minneapolis suburb Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Tuesday evening in connection to continued unrest after the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright.
Demonstrations began at 4:30 p.m. and branched outward from the initial location in front of the police station. An estimated 800 to 1,000 people clashed with police in full riot gear, with law enforcers using riot gas, projectiles, and flash-bang grenades to try to quell the unrest. Forty people were arrested the night prior.
“The behaviors we continue to see are unacceptable, and we are not going to tolerate them,” State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said. “We encourage you to be peaceful and come and exercise your First Amendment rights. It is not acceptable and will not be tolerated if you choose to come and do criminal activity and destroy property and throw objects and make it unsafe for people to come and exercise your First Amendment rights.”
Despite the mayor instituting a 10:00 p.m. curfew, at midnight, it was confirmed that rioters were launching cans and bricks at law enforcement. An hour prior, Operation Safety Net, a law enforcement coalition formed to promote safety after the death of George Floyd, reported that people were throwing bottles and bricks in addition to spraying mace in officers’ faces. This was the third night of riots.
At midnight, the National Guard trickled into the Minneapolis suburb. “We want to make sure everyone is safe,” Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott tweeted. “Please be safe and please go home.”
As demonstrators threw projectiles and attempted to storm the Brooklyn Center police station, one video shows Black Lives Matter protesters demanding that white people be moved to the front of the line to act as human shields against law enforcement in riot gear.
“Get the white people to the front!” #BLM protesters demand that whites be used as human shields as they gather outside the Brooklyn Center police station. They’ve been trying to break down the fence & are throwing projectiles. #antifa https://t.co/2gW7bGK6lq
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 14, 2021
Police officers pulled over Wright on Sunday for a traffic infraction. Upon conducting a background check, they learned there was a warrant out for Wright’s arrest, which was related to an attempt at aggravated armed robbery. Police attempted to arrest Wright, but fatally shot him after he resisted and reentered his vehicle. The Minnesota police chief says the officer intended to use a taser. A prosecutor in Minnesota has said he will charge the police officer who killed Wright with second-degree manslaughter.
A riot ensued in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday, with an estimated 100 people setting a police station on fire. Rioters in Columbus, Ohio broke into the city police station and pepper-sprayed law enforcement.
Source: The Federalist
