124-599: Local protests over the murder of George Floyd , sometimes called the Minneapolis riots or the Minneapolis uprising , began on May 26, 2020, and within a few days had inspired a global protest movement against police brutality and racial inequality . The initial events were a reaction to a video filmed the day before and circulated widely in the media of police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for several minutes while Floyd struggled to breathe, begged for help, lost consciousness, and died. Public outrage over
248-403: A Target store a short distance away from the protest. At 6:32 p.m., at an AutoZone store located across the intersection from the third police precinct station, a masked man carrying an umbrella and a sledgehammer was recorded on video breaking windows and spray-painting graffiti which encouraged looting. Some protesters confronted the masked man and asked him to stop. In a warrant filed after
372-530: A classical station and a contemporary station, The Current , which plays music from regional and other contemporary artists. The MPR program A Prairie Home Companion , hosted by Minnesota native Garrison Keillor , aired live for many years from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul . The show ended its run in 2016, with its successor Live from Here also airing from the same venue. This radio program
496-455: A viral video . Later, demonstrators downtown shot off fireworks and stood off against a line of Minneapolis police officers who fired tear gas. Protesters marched on the Interstate 35W highway. Smaller crowds gathered elsewhere. "We were defending an entire city with 600 officers against thousands and thousands of protestors," Frey later said of the events. As the riots unfolded, adherents of
620-594: A bystander's video saying his final words: "I can't breathe", "Please", and "Mama". He appeared unconscious at the scene, and was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m. after being transported by ambulance to the Hennepin County Medical Center emergency room. By the beginning of the 21st century, Minneapolis was home to some of the largest racial disparities in the United States. The city's population of people of color and Indigenous people fared worse than
744-537: A city official about Ellison's remarks that such a move would result in "ultimate chaos". Looting and property destruction were widespread in Minneapolis overnight from May 27 to May 28, with the heaviest destruction occurring in the vicinity of the third precinct police station near Minnehaha Avenue and East Lake Street. Looting, which first began at a Target store in the Minnehaha Center shopping district, spread to
868-457: A downtown shopping district in Minneapolis where there were 400 state troopers present. The tension escalated when another large crowd advanced on the city's first police precinct station near Hennepin Avenue and 5th Street. A Minneapolis police officer that drove near the crowd rolled down her window and indiscriminately fired Mace at protesters, bystanders, and journalists; the incident was caught on
992-449: A focus of international attention after MPD officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for almost ten minutes. The murder sparked local , nationwide and international protests against racism and police brutality, bringing considerable attention to the MPD. Minneapolis–Saint Paul was the site of the second-costliest act of civil disobedience in U.S. history, after
1116-504: A multi-jurisdiction government command that responded to the riots demobilized on June 7, 2020. Local protests and unrest over Floyd's murder continued in 2020 – 2023 and broadened to other issues of racial injustice. On May 2, 2023, the conclusion of the last criminal case for the four Minneapolis police officers responsible for murdering Floyd fulfilled a key demand of protesters that Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao all be held legally accountable. George Floyd
1240-464: A nearby Cub Foods grocery store, and then to several liquor stores, pharmacies, and other businesses across the city. The fire at the AutoZone store that was damaged earlier in the evening led to a series of other acts of arson. Among the losses to fire was Midtown Corner, an under-construction, $ 30 million redevelopment project for 189 units of affordable housing , which was destroyed by fire. Across
1364-681: A percent for every paragraph printed about the event. Twin Cities Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi , Minnesota , and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota . It is commonly known as the Twin Cities after the area's two largest cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul . Minnesotans often refer to
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#17330936857321488-448: A police officer with the department, Chauvin had received 17 complaints, but only faced discipline once. At 12:41 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, Minneapolis police released a statement about the arrest and murder of Floyd several hours prior. They said that a suspected money forger had "physically resisted" arrest and suffered "medical distress" after being handcuffed by officers, leading to his death. The statement made no mention that Floyd
1612-590: A protest as a way of publicly making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or they may undertake direct action in an attempt to enact desired changes themselves. When protests are part of a systematic and peaceful nonviolent campaign to achieve a particular objective, and involve the use of pressure as well as persuasion, they go beyond mere protest and may be better described as civil resistance or nonviolent resistance . Various forms of self-expression and protest are sometimes restricted by governmental policy (such as
1736-464: A protest could make them an easier target for government surveillance . A study of 342 US protests covered by The New York Times newspaper from 1962 to 1990 showed that such public activities usually affected the company's publicly traded stock price. The most intriguing aspect of the study's findings revealed that the amount of media coverage the event received was of the most importance to this study. Stock prices fell an average of one-tenth of
1860-610: A single summer. The lowest temperature ever reported at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport was −34 °F (−37 °C) on January 22, 1936; the highest, 108 °F (42 °C), was reported on July 14 of the same year. Early settlement records at Fort Snelling show temperatures as low as −42 °F (−41 °C). Recent records include −40 °F (−40 °C) at Vadnais Lake on February 2, 1996 (National Climatic Data Center). Precipitation averages 29.41 inches (74.7 cm) per year, and
1984-483: A standard protocol, pending further investigation. The Minneapolis police department's initial statement, which mis-characterized the circumstances of Floyd's death, was perceived as being radically different from what was recorded on bystander videos, and fueled public outrage. By late morning on May 26, a makeshift memorial had been set up in Minneapolis outside the Cup Food store at East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue ,
2108-505: A way of protesting. Any protest could be civil disobedience if a "ruling authority" says so, but the following are usually civil disobedience demonstrations: Blogging and social networking have become effective tools to register protest and grievances. Protests can express views or news, and use viral networking to reach out to thousands of people. With protests on the rise from the U.S. election season of 2016 going into 2017, protesters became aware that using their social media during
2232-717: Is a major industry in the region and the southeasterly city of Rochester , as the University of Minnesota has joined other colleges and hospitals in doing significant research, and major medical device manufacturers started in the region (the most prominent is Medtronic ). Technical innovators have brought important advances in computing, including the Cray line of supercomputers . Many Twin Cities residents own or share cabins and other properties along lakes and forested areas in central and northern Minnesota, and weekend trips "up North" happen in
2356-553: Is featured. There are numerous lakes in the region, and some cities in the area have extensive park systems for recreation. Organized recreation includes the Great River Energy bicycle festival , the Twin Cities Marathon , and the U.S. pond hockey championships. Some studies have shown that area residents take advantage of this, and are among the most physically fit in the country, but others have disputed that. Medicine
2480-440: Is influenced by individuals' ties within social networks . Social connections can affect both the spread of factual information about a protest and social pressures on participants. Willing to participate will also vary depending on the type of protest. Likelihood that someone will respond to a protest is also affected by group identification, and by the types of tactics involved. The Dynamics of Collective Action project and
2604-497: Is most plentiful in June (4.34 inches (11.0 cm)) and least so in February (0.79 inches (2.0 cm)). The greatest one-day rainfall amount was 9.15 inches (23.2 cm), reported on July 23, 1987. The cities' record for lowest annual precipitation was set in 1910, when 11.54 inches (29.3 cm) fell throughout the year; coincidentally, the opposite record of 40.15 inches (102.0 cm)
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#17330936857322728-583: Is named after James J. Hill , a railroad tycoon who settled on Summit Avenue in Saint Paul in what is now known as the James J. Hill House . Like many Northern cities that grew up with the Industrial Revolution , Minneapolis and St. Paul experienced shifts in their economic base as heavy industry declined, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. With the economic decline of those decades came population decline in
2852-595: Is now unsafe. Please, help us keep the peace. ..." Frey also reached out to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz that night and requested the help of the Minnesota National Guard , but the city government was reportedly unaware of the timeline and logistics of troop deployment, and delegated tactical coordination to the police force. However, knowing that it would take some time for the National Guard to mobilize, Frey and city leaders began discussing ways to deescalate
2976-434: The 1992 Los Angeles Riots . Local protests and riots caused an estimated $ 550 million in damages and affected around 1,600 businesses. Minneapolis and Saint Paul have competed since they were founded, resulting in some duplication of effort. After Saint Paul completed its elaborate cathedral in 1915, Minneapolis followed up with the equally ornate Basilica of St. Mary in 1926. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
3100-461: The 2020 census . The larger 21-county Minneapolis–St. Paul MN–WI Combined Statistical Area , the nation's 16th-largest combined statistical area, had a population of 4,078,788 at the 2020 census. The first European settlement in the region was near what is now the town of Stillwater, Minnesota , about 20 miles (30 km) from downtown Saint Paul and on the western bank of the St. Croix River , which forms
3224-663: The Boogaloo movement , a far-right extremist movement, began discussions online about how to exploit the events to start a second American Civil War that would be blamed on Black Lives Matter. Michael Robert Solomon of New Brighton , a Minneapolis suburb, recruited at least five Boogaloo adherents to join him in Minnesota, including Ivan Harrison Hunter of Boerne, Texas , and Benjamin Ryan Teeter of Hampstead, North Carolina . The group made plans to meet in Minneapolis at 6:00 p.m. on May 28 at
3348-488: The Global Nonviolent Action Database are two of the leading data collection efforts attempting to capture information about protest events. The Dynamics of Collective Action project considers the repertoire of protest tactics (and their definitions) to include: The Global Nonviolent Action Database uses Gene Sharp's classification of 198 methods of nonviolent action. There is considerable overlap with
3472-515: The Metropolitan Council regional governmental agency and planning organization. The United States Office of Management and Budget officially designates 15 counties as the "Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington MN– WI Metropolitan Statistical Area". It is the 16th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. and third-largest metropolitan area in the Midwest , with a population of 3,690,261 at
3596-629: The Metropolitan Council . Counties that are italicized were added to the metropolitan area when the Office of Management and Budget revised its delineations of metropolitan statistical areas in 2013. Sibley County was included in the metropolitan statistical area from 2013 to September 2018. The Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN–WI Combined Statistical Area is made up of 19 counties in Minnesota and two counties in Wisconsin. The statistical area includes two metropolitan areas and four micropolitan areas . As of
3720-584: The Mill District and the North Loop area. Saint Paul, which sits mostly on the east side of the river, has a smaller business district, many tree-lined neighborhoods, and a large collection of late- Victorian architecture . Both cities, and the surrounding smaller cities, feature lakes, hills, and creeks. Originally inhabited by the Ojibwe and Dakota people, the cities were settled by various Europeans. Minneapolis
3844-526: The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension also opened an investigation of the incident. Bob Kroll , president of the Minneapolis police officer's union, said the firing of the officers occurred without due process and offered "full support of the officers" during the investigations. Hennepin County Attorney Michael O. Freeman , the official responsible for bringing criminal charges against
George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul - Misplaced Pages Continue
3968-614: The NHL Winter Classic was played at Target Field in 2022. The Final Four Men's National College Athletics Association (NCAA) basketball tournament has been hosted by Minneapolis four times—1951, 1992, 2001 and 2019—and the Women's twice, in 1995 and 2022. The Frozen Four Men's NCAA hockey tournament has been hosted by the Twin Cities nine times—1958, 1966, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2002, 2011, 2018 and 2024. Major golf tournaments hosted in
4092-612: The Rock Island Railroad , brought more than a thousand curious travelers into the area by rail and steamboat in 1854. In 1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published The Song of Hiawatha , an epic poem based on the Ojibwe legends of Hiawatha . A number of natural area landmarks appear in the story, including Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Falls . Tourists inspired by the coverage of the Grand Excursion in eastern newspapers and those who read The Song of Hiawatha flocked to
4216-586: The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra are full-time professional musical ensembles . The Guthrie Theater is a world-class regional theater overlooking the Mississippi River. The Minnesota Fringe Festival is an annual celebration of theatre , dance , improvisation , puppetry , kids' shows, visual art , and musicals. The Twin Cities is also the home of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) , the nation's second-largest public radio station. It has both
4340-519: The Shingle Creek Crossing shopping center. At about 1:00 am on May 28, a local police contingent amassed in the area to scatter vehicles that were circling the area, and police officers made three arrests. At a press conference on May 28, Chief Arradondo remarked that, in his view, the majority of protests the previous day were peaceful, but were "hijacked" by some who were looting and vandalizing businesses. Minneapolis city officials hoped that
4464-525: The St. Paul Saints , both baseball teams of the American Association . In the 1950s, both cities competed for a major league baseball franchise (which resulted in two rival stadiums being built), and there was a brief period in the mid-1960s when the two cities could not agree on a common calendar for daylight saving time , resulting in a few weeks when people in Minneapolis were one hour "behind" those in Saint Paul. The cities' mutual antagonism
4588-406: The Twin Cities were 75 percent for white families, but only 23 percent for black families, one of the largest disparities in the nation. By 2018, unemployment for black people in Minnesota had reached a historic low of 6.9 percent, but it was still three times higher than the rate for white people. Though black residents made up just 6 percent of Minnesota's population, they were nearly 37 percent of
4712-478: The University Avenue business corridor. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tracked 164 structure fires due to arson in the Twin Cities region during the riots. Governor Tim Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard in response to civil unrest. The 7,123 troops activated represented the largest deployment of the state's forces since World War II . By early June 2020, violence in
4836-469: The central city areas , white flight to suburbs, and, in the summer of 1967, race riots on Minneapolis's North Side. But by the 1980s and 1990s, Minneapolis and Saint Paul were often cited as former Rust Belt cities that had made successful transitions to service, high-technology, finance, and information economies. In May and June 2020, the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area became
4960-541: The civil rights movement in the United States tended to produce favorable media coverage and changes in public opinion focusing on the issues organizers were raising, but violent protests tended to generate unfavorable media coverage that generated public desire to restore law and order. Unaddressed protests may grow and widen into civil resistance , dissent, activism, riots, insurgency , revolts, and political or social revolution. Some examples of protests include: A protest can take many forms. Willingness to participate
5084-640: The 2010 census, the CSA had a population of 3,682,928 (though a July 1, 2012 estimate placed it at 3,691,918). In 2013, the Owatonna Micropolitan Statistical Area was added. Note: Owatonna MSA was not part of CSA in 2010. There are approximately 218 incorporated municipalities in the Twin Cities metropolitan region. This includes census-designated places and villages in Wisconsin , but excludes unincorporated towns in Wisconsin, known as civil townships in other states. Population numbers are from
George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul - Misplaced Pages Continue
5208-880: The 2020 census. Principal cities Places with 50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants Places with 25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants Places with 10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants The Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area fine art museums include the Minneapolis Institute of Art , the Walker Art Center , the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum , Minnesota Museum of American Art and The Museum of Russian Art . Other museums include American Swedish Institute , Science Museum of Minnesota , Minnesota Children's Museum , Bell Museum (natural history and planetarium) and The Bakken Museum (science and technology). The Minnesota Orchestra and
5332-523: The Cub Food grocery store on 26th Avenue South off East Lake Street, near the epicenter of heavy rioting and looting. During the riots, the Boogaloo members were seen driving around Minneapolis, carrying firearms, and openly discussing a willingness to commit violent acts against police officers. Late at night on May 28, the focus of demonstrators shifted to the Minneapolis third precinct police station building at
5456-672: The Dynamics of Collective Action repertoire, although the GNA repertoire includes more specific tactics. Together, the two projects help define tactics available to protesters and document instances of their use. Thomas Ratliff and Lori Hall have devised a typology of six broad activity categories of the protest activities described in the Dynamics of Collective Action project. Some forms of direct action listed in this article are also public demonstrations or rallies. Written evidence of political or economic power, or democratic justification may also be
5580-497: The May 25 incident between Floyd and the police were known, thousands more rallied at the street intersection, and organizers emphasized keeping the gathering peaceful. Police estimated the size of the crowd at approximately 8,000 people. Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo held an afternoon press conference on May 26 to express solidarity with the community's growing sense of anger. Frey called for charges to be filed against
5704-399: The Minneapolis home of Hennepin County Attorney Michael O. Freeman . Throughout the day state and local officials discussed the possibility of deploying more state patrols and National Guard troops, but anticipated it would not be needed until Saturday, May 30 when larger protests were planned. However, state officials were unsure if Minneapolis city officials had a plan in place to deal with
5828-408: The Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area had resulted in at least two deaths, 604 arrests, and more than $ 500 million in damage to approximately 1,500 properties, the second-most destructive period of local unrest in U.S. history, after the 1992 Los Angeles riots . Violent protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul over Floyd's murder largely subsided after May 30, 2020. The Minnesota National Guard and
5952-480: The Mississippi. Saint Paul was long at the head of navigation on the river, until a lock and dam facility was added upriver in Minneapolis. Passenger travel hit its peak in 1888, with nearly eight million traversing to and from Saint Paul Union Depot . This amounted to approximately 150 trains daily. Soon, other rail crossings were built farther south and travel through the region began to decline. In an effort by
6076-468: The National Guard is to protect people, to protect people safely demonstrating, and to protect small business owners." Walz also said it would take guard troops a few days to fully mobilize. State and federal prosecutors called a press conference in the late afternoon at a regional FBI office in Brooklyn Center , a Minneapolis suburb. It was anticipated that there they might reveal a major development in
6200-526: The Rapper , Bon Iver , The Flaming Lips , Wilco and Sonic Youth . The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis hosts the annual Basilica Block Party , another music festival, which has featured nationally recognized artists such as Weezer , Andy Grammer , Death Cab for Cutie and Panic! at the Disco . The festival is used as a fundraiser for the restoration of the basilica. The event draws about 25,000 people to
6324-419: The Twin Cities three times—1965, 1987 and 1991—as have three Major League Baseball All-Star Games —1965, 1985 and 2014. NHL All-Star games were hosted in 1972 and 2004, NBA All-Star game in 1994, WNBA All-Star game in 2018 and MLS All-Star game in 2022. The Stanley Cup Finals have been played in the Twin Cities twice, in 1981 and 1991. The NHL Stadium Series had a game in the Twin Cities in 2016, and
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#17330936857326448-525: The Twin Cities to be named for Minnesota as a whole. In terms of development, the two cities remain distinct in their progress, with Minneapolis absorbing new and avant-garde architecture while Saint Paul continues to carefully integrate new buildings into the context of classical and Victorian styles. Like much of Minnesota, the Twin Cities area was shaped by water and ice over millions of years. The area's land sits atop thick layers of sandstone and limestone laid down as seas encroached upon and receded from
6572-632: The Twin Cities. Other memorable Twin Cities weather-related events include the tornado outbreak on May 6, 1965, the Armistice Day Blizzard on November 11, 1940, and the Halloween Blizzard of 1991. In January 2019 , Minnesota experienced its coldest temperatures since 1996, when a polar vortex dropped temperatures as low as −56 °F (−49 °C) in Cotton, Minnesota , with wind-chill temperatures lower than −60 °F (−51 °C) in much of
6696-712: The United States. But due to their southern location in the state and the urban heat island , the Twin Cities are among Minnesota's warmest places. The average annual temperature recorded at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport is 45.4 °F (7.4 °C); 3.5 °F (1.9 °C) colder than Winona, Minnesota , and 8.8 °F (4.9 °C) warmer than Roseau, Minnesota . Monthly average daily high temperatures range from 21.9 °F (−5.6 °C) in January to 83.3 °F (28.5 °C) in July;
6820-511: The area in the following decades. At one time, the region had numerous passenger rail services, including both interurban streetcar systems and interstate rail. Due to the river's width at points farther south, the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area was briefly one of the few places where the Mississippi could be crossed by railroad. Much commercial rail traffic also ran through the area, often carrying grain to be processed at Minneapolis mills or delivering other goods to Saint Paul to be transported along
6944-523: The average daily minimum temperatures for those months are 4.3 °F (−15.4 °C) and 63.0 °F (17.2 °C) respectively. Minimum temperatures of 0 °F (−18 °C) or lower are seen on an average of 29.7 days per year, and 76.2 days do not have a maximum temperature exceeding the freezing point. Temperatures above 90 °F (32 °C) occur an average of 15 times per year. Higher temperatures at or above 100 °F (38 °C) are recorded once every 4-5 years on average, and sometimes during
7068-518: The border of central Minnesota and Wisconsin. Another settlement that fueled early interest in the area was the outpost at Fort Snelling , which was constructed from 1820 to 1825 at the confluence of the Minnesota River and the Mississippi River . The Fort Snelling military reservation bordered both sides of the river up to Saint Anthony Falls . The town of Saint Anthony grew just outside
7192-462: The building. Bryce Williams of Staples and Davon Turner of Saint Paul worked together to light a Molotov cocktail , and then Turner took it into the building. Dylan Robinson of Brainerd then helped light a second Molotov cocktail . Branden Wolf of Saint Paul pushed materials into a fire at the building's entrance, intending to accelerate the flames. One of the Boogaloo adherents who had converged in Minneapolis, Ivan Hunter of Texas, participated in
7316-517: The burning of the precinct building was justified. Protest A protest (also called a demonstration , remonstration , or remonstrance ) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate by attending, and share the potential costs and risks of doing so. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass political demonstrations . Protesters may organize
7440-481: The bystander's video. Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said it was "vile and heartbreaking" and all of the officers present at the scene of Floyd's arrest should be held accountable. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar called for an independent investigation. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz promised, "We will get answers and seek justice." The four officers at the scene of Floyd's murder were placed on paid administrative leave ,
7564-609: The case against the officers who were at the scene of Floyd's murder. After a long delay, however, Hennepin County Attorney Michael O. Freeman announced that his office needed more time to investigate and that there was other evidence that might result in no criminal charges being filed. In responding to the anticipation created by the media briefing and its two-hour delayed start, U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald said, "I thought we would have another development to talk to you about, but we don't". Weeks later, on June 9, 2020, it
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#17330936857327688-409: The chaos. Hunter shot 13 rounds at the building using an AK-47-style gun and entered the building to loot and help set it on fire. Two hours later, Hunter sent a text message to Steven Carrillo, the perpetrator of the 2020 boogaloo murders , and encouraged him to, “Go for police buildings”. Many others illegally entered the building. Surrounded by a crowd of about 1,000 people, the station burned until
7812-428: The city by the weekend. To quell riotous behavior, Mayor Frey declared a state of emergency to allow for more flexibility in the city's response. Frey and Arradondo also began quietly preparing for the contingency of surrendering the third precinct station in Minneapolis if violence escalated. Few people knew of the plan outside of some officers stationed there and nearby business owners who had heard rumors and noticed
7936-502: The city's white population by many measures of well-being, such as health outcomes, academic achievement, income, and home ownership. The result of discriminatory policies and racism over the course of the city's history, racial disparity was described by author Tom Webber in Minneapolis: An Urban Biography as the most significant issue facing Minneapolis in the first decades of the 2000s. By 2015, homeownership rates in
8060-478: The city. At the location of Floyd's murder, protesters were led through prayer and a series of chants. By late morning, a group of protesters blocked the nearby intersection. Some protesters left memorials by the Cup Foods store, while some spray painted the words "Justice for Floyd" and " Black Lives Matter " on the street surface. No police were present and the scene was described as peaceful. A protest occurred outside
8184-453: The civil unrest. A crowd of about 1,000 people converged outside the Minneapolis third police precinct station at the intersection of East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue on May 27. By 6:15 p.m., skirmishes had broken out in the crowd as demonstrators had begun throwing objects at the police station and officers fired chemical irritants to push them back. By 6:25 p.m. police received reports of looting as another crowd of people began ransacking
8308-424: The conditions that led to civil disorder in Minneapolis. George Floyd's murder was viewed by some residents as a continuation of a history of police violence in Minneapolis, where 11 people were killed by police officers between 2010 and 2020, including Floyd. In 2015, the killing of Jamar Clark , a black man, by a Minneapolis police officer led to controversy and protests; it was later determined by prosecutors that
8432-476: The content of the video gave way to widespread civil disorder in Minneapolis , Saint Paul , and other cities in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area over the five-day period of May 26 to 30 after Floyd's murder. Minneapolis sustained extensive damage from rioting and looting during the protests—largely concentrated on a 5-mile (8.0 km) stretch of Lake Street south of downtown—including
8556-478: The deal, he was willing to go to prison for more than 10 years. The deal fell apart shortly before it was going to be announced after William Barr , the U.S. Attorney General , rejected the arrangement fearing that it would be viewed as too lenient by protestors. The deal was contingent on the federal government's approval because Chauvin, who had asked to serve his time in a federal prison , wanted assurance he would not face federal civil rights charges. Details about
8680-410: The decision to fire upon the crowd because some officers kept weapons in their vehicles that could be taken. In response to being fired upon, demonstrators threw rocks, water bottles, and miscellaneous objects towards the officers. The unruly crowd clashing with the police numbered in the hundreds, a noted contrast from the larger, peaceful group gathered earlier in the day, who were estimated to number in
8804-434: The destruction of the city's 3rd police precinct building, which was overrun by demonstrators and set on fire. At cost of $ 350 million, approximately 1,300 properties in Minneapolis were damaged by the civil unrest, of which nearly 100 were entirely destroyed. Saint Paul suffered damages that totaled $ 82 million and affected 330 buildings, including 37 properties that were heavily damaged or destroyed, with most destruction along
8928-481: The downtown area. The Twin Cities area has a number of venues where artists come to perform. Minneapolis is home to First Avenue . First Avenue is known for being the starting venue for many famous artists and bands from the area, including Prince , The Replacements , Atmosphere , and Manny Phesto . It became one of the most recognizable venues in Minnesota after the release of the Prince movie Purple Rain , in which it
9052-489: The early evening at the Hennepin County Government Center building in Minneapolis, and then marched through the city's downtown area where store fronts had been boarded up and the state patrol maintained a heavy presence; no violence was reported from the march. Hundreds of demonstrators returned to the area near the third precinct police station, where Frey and Arradondo had reduced the street presence of
9176-434: The early morning hours of May 29 when firefighting crews reached the area and eventually extinguished fires. The several-hundred-member contingent of state patrol and National Guard troops on the ground in Minneapolis that night primarily escorted fire trucks and protected a Federal Reserve building and areas of downtown Minneapolis. Walz later remarked that the city had not given directions specifying where to deploy troops as
9300-489: The eastern side of the Mississippi, a few villages such as Pig's Eye and Lambert's Landing grew to become Saint Paul. Natural geography played a role in the two cities' settlement and development. The Mississippi River Valley in the area is defined by a series of stone bluffs that line the river. Saint Paul grew up around Lambert's Landing, the last place to unload boats coming upriver at an easily accessible point, seven miles (11 km) downstream from Saint Anthony Falls ,
9424-468: The evening. A smaller group that broke away from the main protest breached the fence of the station parking lot, climbed on the building, painted graffiti, threw rocks and bottles at officers, broke a window of the building, and broke a window of an unoccupied police car . Some protesters tried to stop the vandalism, with a scuffle breaking out in the crowd. Recently elected city council member Jeremiah Ellison , who had participated in prior protests against
9548-488: The focus on George Floyd, on advancing our movement and on preventing this from ever happening again." At 4 p.m. CDT, Governor Walz formally activated 500 National Guard troops and deployed them to the Twin Cities area, at Frey's request. Walz commented, "George Floyd's death should lead to justice and systemic change, not more death and destruction." Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan added, "the demonstration last night became incredibly unsafe for all involved. The purpose of
9672-423: The four involved officers worked. The Minnesota State Patrol began activating its Mobile Field Force, but it staged its officers in the nearby suburb of Richfield as the Minneapolis police declined assistance. At the Minneapolis police third precinct station on Minnehaha Avenue, protesters rallied peacefully with megaphones and signs on the steps at the building's entrance. The main protest group disbanded later in
9796-608: The geographic feature that, due to the value of its immense water power for industry, defined Minneapolis's location and its prominence as the Mill City. The falls can be seen from the Mill City Museum , housed in the former Washburn "A" Mill , which was among the world's largest mills in its time. The phrase "St. Paul is the last city of the East, Minneapolis the first city of the West" alludes to
9920-418: The handcuffs on the criminals instead of [on] us". Controversy had also erupted when police officers put up a " ghetto " Christmas tree at the fourth police precinct station in 2018. The police department had a history of not holding officers accountable for complaints and disciplinary actions. Of the 80 officers fired for misconduct in the 20 years prior to the murder of Floyd, around half were reinstated. As
10044-529: The historical difference. The state's oldest farms are in Washington County . The county borders the St. Croix River and Wisconsin on the eastern side of the metropolitan area. Joseph Haskell was Minnesota's first white farmer, harvesting the first crops in the state in 1840 on what is now part of Afton Township on Trading Post Trail. The Grand Excursion , a trip into the Upper Midwest sponsored by
10168-413: The intersection of East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue. Some protesters threw objects at the officers guarding the building, who responded by firing rubber bullets in the crowd. Demonstrators began tearing down fencing that surrounded the precinct station and police responded with tear gas. As tensions in the area mounted, Frey gave the order to evacuate the station, a tactic he later said was to deescalate
10292-591: The involved officers who killed Floyd, and said, "Whatever the investigation reveals, it does not change the simple truth that he should be with us this morning." Arradondo added, "Being Black in America should not be a death sentence." In an unprecedented move in Minneapolis for swiftness, Arradondo fired the four officers who had been present at the scene of Floyd's arrest and murder, a move supported by Frey. Protesters and Floyd's family called for murder charges for all four officers involved and swift judicial consequences, as
10416-649: The main protest site near the city's third police precinct building, Calvin Horton Jr., a 43-year-old man from Minneapolis, was fatally shot by the owner of the Cadillac Pawn & Jewelry shop who believed he was burglarizing his business. Including Horton, five people were struck by gunfire in Minneapolis that night, but he was the only reported fatality. Frey made an emotional plea just before midnight on May 27, saying, "Please, please, Minneapolis. We cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy. The activity around Lake and Hiawatha
10540-510: The morning. By 3:11 a.m. the police department said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would join local officials in the investigation of the incident. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey held a 6:45 a.m. press conference, and said in reaction to the bystander video he had seen, "What we saw was horrible. Completely and utterly messed up." By mid-morning several public officials released statements condemning what they viewed in
10664-404: The nation's healthiest metropolitan area. The Twin Cities is one of 12 American metropolitan areas with teams in all four major professional sports —baseball (MLB), football (NFL), basketball (NBA) and ice hockey (NHL). Including Major League Soccer (MLS), it is one of 11 metro areas with five major professional sports teams. To avoid favoring either city, most teams based in the area use only
10788-400: The officers had acted in self defense and no charges were filed. In 2016, the killing of Philando Castile , a black man, in nearby Falcon Heights resulted in several weeks of protests and unrest; the resulting criminal case ended with a jury acquittal for the involved officer after a 10-month process. In 2017, the killing of Justine Damond , a white woman, led to a 12-year prison sentence for
10912-425: The police after the killing of black men, advised the mayor to not interfere with those vandalizing police property, hoping to spare the surrounding neighborhood from further damage. Police Chief Arradondo eventually ordered forces to respond, and police officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets to push demonstrators back, even though there were protesters who were not being violent. He later told reporters that he made
11036-511: The police and black community. The head of the police union representing Minneapolis officers, Bob Kroll , was a continuing source of controversy, having called Black Lives Matter a "terrorist organization" in 2016 after the officers involved in Clark's death were cleared of wrongdoing. His appearance at a political rally for Donald Trump 's presidential campaign in 2019 generated controversy when Kroll said that Trump would "let cops do their job, put
11160-403: The police officer, a black man, who shot her. In instances where Minneapolis police officers attempted to justify the aggressive use of force against residents, a pattern emerged in which the police department would release officer statements that were later contradicted by video and other evidence, as revealed by several civil rights and wrongful death lawsuits. Some felt that the judicial system
11284-524: The police officers, promised an expedited review of the case. The tone of protests, which were peaceful initially, shifted the afternoon of May 26. State officials began monitoring the events as protests began to escalate at East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. By evening, the protest rally at the location of Floyd's murder became a two-mile (3.2 km), peaceful march to the Minneapolis Police Department 's third precinct police station where
11408-423: The police. By the evening, police reports said the crowd was "engaged in peaceful activity" as some were cooking food, listening to music, and socializing. It was not until after sunset that the crowd grew more restless, when looting resumed and a vehicle and building were set on fire. Multiple large, mobile crowds and chaos were reported across the city by nightfall. A crowd of 1,500 protesters were marching through
11532-418: The potential plea agreement were not publicly known during the initial period of unrest. The number of protests overwhelmed the law enforcement response. Thousands of people marched peacefully in the streets of Minneapolis and called for justice for George Floyd during the day on May 28. Sporadic looting was reported in the afternoon in Saint Paul's Midway neighborhood . A crowd of about 1,000 people rallied in
11656-537: The rail companies to combat the rise of the automobile, some of the earliest streamliners ran from Chicago to Minneapolis/Saint Paul and eventually served distant points in the Pacific Northwest . Today, this interstate service is served by Amtrak 's Seattle / Portland -to- Chicago Empire Builder route, running once daily in each direction, and supplemented by the Borealis route to Chicago. The Empire Builder
11780-458: The region. Erosion caused natural caves to develop, which were expanded into mines when white settlers came to the area. During Prohibition , at least one speakeasy was built into these hidden spaces—eventually refurbished as Saint Paul's Wabasha Street Caves . Lakes across the area were formed and altered by the movement of glaciers . This left many bodies of water in the region, some with unusual shapes. For example, Lake Minnetonka , toward
11904-421: The relationship between the Minneapolis Police Department and the community, particularly the city's black residents, had deteriorated significantly. Several killings of residents by police officers and alleged displays of racial insensitivity by police leaders contributed to the tension. In the city's Powderhorn Park neighborhood, where Floyd was murdered, some argued there had been a persisting distrust between
12028-475: The requirement of protest permits ), economic circumstances, religious orthodoxy, social structures, or media monopoly. One state reaction to protests is the use of riot police . Observers have noted an increased militarization of protest policing in many countries, with police deploying armored vehicles and snipers against protesters. When such restrictions occur, protests may assume the form of open civil disobedience , more subtle forms of resistance against
12152-405: The reservation on the river's east side. For several years, the only European resident to live on the west bank of the river was Colonel John H. Stevens , who operated a ferry service across the river. When the military reservation was reduced in size, settlers quickly moved to the land, creating the new village of Minneapolis. The town grew, with Minneapolis and Saint Anthony eventually merging. On
12276-410: The restrictions, or may spill over into other areas such as culture and emigration. A protest itself may at times be the subject of a counter-protest . In such cases, counter-protesters demonstrate their support for the person, policy, action, etc. that is the subject of the original protest. Protesters and counter-protesters can sometimes violently clash. One study found that nonviolent activism during
12400-466: The riots to investigate the mysterious "Umbrella Man", police said he was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood , that the abrupt attack at AutoZone came during a mostly calm demonstration at the street intersection of the third police precinct station, and that the man intended to incite violence. Looting soon spread to several other businesses near the main protest site. Later in the evening on May 27,
12524-466: The rivalry became so intense that an architect practicing in one city was often refused business in the other. The 1890 United States Census even led to the two cities arresting and/or kidnapping each other's census takers, in an attempt to keep each city from outgrowing the other. The rivalry occasionally erupted into inter-city violence, as at a 1929 game between the Minneapolis Millers and
12648-493: The same AutoZone store became the first building to be set on fire during the unrest. Some protesters attempted to put out the AutoZone fire, while others celebrated and took selfies . Another fire was started inside a nearby Cub Foods grocery store. By 9:24 p.m., Minneapolis police had run out of chemical irritants and Minnesota State Patrol officers abandoned attempts to stop the looting. Violence escalated at nightfall on May 27. At about 9:49 p.m., one mile (1.6 km) from
12772-449: The situation and prevent further loss of life. Officers retreating from the building loaded into squad vehicles and had to smash through a parking lot gate to escape, as it had been padlocked at some point by protesters. Demonstrators then moved in and threw bottles and debris at the fleeing officers who eventually made their way to a rendezvous site three blocks away. Demonstrators tore away fencing intended to stop trespassers from entering
12896-470: The situation with demonstrators. Minneapolis City Council member Andrew Johnson , who represented the area by the third police precinct station, blamed the police for the unfolding destruction, arguing they prioritized defense of the third precinct building over business premises. Council member Jeremiah Ellison said in a media interview that night that the police should "sacrifice" the station, while council member Linea Palmisano expressed privately to
13020-401: The state's prison population in 2016. By the 2020s, generations of the city's black residents had been unable to experience the same levels of comforts and asset accumulation as the white residents. The Atlantic said that years of disinvestment and abandonment of the area around Lake Street in Minneapolis and city officials ignoring the needs of the community's black residents were some of
13144-636: The state. These temperatures are colder than those found on the surface of Mars . (See: Department of Natural Resources - Cold Outbreak: January 27-31, 2019 ) A normal growing season in the metro extends from late April or early May through the month of October. The USDA places the area in the 4a plant hardiness zone . The Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington MN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area , or Twin Cities, includes 15 counties, of which 13 are in Minnesota and two in Wisconsin. The Minnesota portion accounts for almost two-thirds of Minnesota's population. Note: Counties that are bolded are under jurisdiction of
13268-896: The station's parking lot being emptied of police squad cars and equipment. Businesses throughout the Twin Cities spent the day boarding up windows and doors to prevent looting. Among them, the Target Corporation announced closures for all of its area stores. Saint Paul police officers armed with batons and gas masks patrolled the city's busiest commercial corridor and kept looters out of a Target store near University Avenue while other business windows were smashed. Minneapolis preemptively shut down its light-rail system and bus service through Sunday, May 31 out of safety concerns. Officials pleaded with metro area residents to stay home Thursday night to prevent further property destruction. African American Saint Paul mayor Melvin Carter said, "Please stay home. Please do not come here to protest. Please keep
13392-474: The street from the apartment building, the manufacturing facility for 7-Sigma, a local high-tech company, also suffered extensive fire damage and part of the factory building collapsed. The response from firefighters in the area was delayed as crews required police escorts for protection from rioters. The Minneapolis fire department responded to approximately 30 fires overnight. Overnight in the suburban City of Brooklyn Center , looters broke into several stores at
13516-415: The street intersection where Floyd was murdered the day prior. The first organized protests emerged at the same location by midday. Some of the gathered protesters chanted, " I can't breathe ", words repeated multiple times by Floyd in the viral video. Many people carried homemade signs that read, " Black Lives Matter ," "Stop Killing Black People," and "I Can't Breathe." By the afternoon, as more details about
13640-470: The thousands. Many protesters viewed the police response to the vandalism as an overreaction that only made the crowd angrier. Late at night on May 26, Minnesota State Patrol officers were deployed to the third precinct station building and to the home of Derek Chauvin in Oakdale, Minnesota , where another large crowd had gathered. Protests in Minneapolis resumed Wednesday, May 27 at several locations throughout
13764-466: The two together (or the seven-county metro area collectively) simply as "The Cities". The area is Minnesota's economic, cultural, and political center. Minneapolis and Saint Paul are independent municipalities with defined borders. Minneapolis sits mostly on the west side of the Mississippi River on lake-covered terrain. Although most of the city is residential neighborhoods, it has a business-dominated downtown area with some historic industrial areas,
13888-462: The violence escalated on East Lake Street. State officials also remarked that the city's decision to abandon the precinct station was a misjudgment, allowing demonstrators to create a situation of "absolute chaos", in the words of Walz. The burning of the police station was one of the vividest images of the unrest spreading across the nation. Several days later, a Monmouth University Polling Institute poll found that 54 percent of Americans thought that
14012-514: The warmer months. Ice fishing is a major winter pastime, although overambitious fishers sometimes find themselves in danger when they venture onto the ice too early or too late. Hunting, snowmobiling, ATV riding and other outdoor activities are also popular. This connection to the outdoors also brings a strong sense of environmentalism to many Minnesotans. In 2011 and 2012, the American College of Sports Medicine named Minneapolis–Saint Paul
14136-415: The western side of the Twin Cities, consists of a complex arrangement of channels and large bays. Elevations in the area range from 1,376 feet (419 m) above sea level in the northwest metro to 666 feet (203 m) at the edge of the Mississippi River in the southeast. Owing to their northerly latitude and inland location, the Twin Cities experience the coldest climate of any major metropolitan area in
14260-403: The word "Minnesota" in their names, rather than "Minneapolis" or "St. Paul". Minneapolis was the site of two Super Bowls — Super Bowl XXVI in 1992 and Super Bowl LII in 2018. It is the farthest north that a Super Bowl has ever been played. The Minnesota Vikings have played in four Super Bowls— IV in 1970, VIII in 1974, IX in 1975 and XI in 1977. The World Series has been played in
14384-493: The worst violence had already passed. Observing the events from near Washington, D.C., United States General Joseph L. Lengyel warned other high-ranking Pentagon officials that the situation in Minneapolis could escalate out of control and that the Minnesota National Guard and 200 military police officers should be ready and armed to intervene. Officials speculated that as many as 75,000 protesters could converge in
14508-533: Was an unarmed African-American man who died while he was being detained by Minneapolis police on May 25, 2020, shortly after 8:00 p.m. CDT , near the Cup Foods grocery store at the intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds, while three other officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao, assisted Chauvin with Floyd's arrest and held concerned onlookers back. Floyd could be heard repeatedly on
14632-653: Was inconsistent in that it did not hold white police officers who killed black men accountable for their actions; the video of Floyd begging for relief while being pinned by Chauvin generated further concern and anger from both white and black residents in the city. Floyd's murder was also the third in a string of widely reported and highly publicized incidents in which unarmed black Americans were killed in 2020, including Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County, Georgia on February 23 and Breonna Taylor in Louisville on March 13. By 2020,
14756-739: Was largely healed by the end of the 1960s, aided by the simultaneous arrival in 1961 of the Minnesota Twins of the American League and the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League , both of which identified themselves with the state as a whole (the former explicitly named for both Twin Cities) rather than either city (like the earlier Minneapolis Lakers ). Since 1961, it has been common practice for any major sports team based in
14880-412: Was revealed that state and federal prosecutors — on the afternoon of the delayed press conference — had been trying to negotiate a plea deal with former officer Derek Chauvin that would have included state murder charges and federal civil rights charges. It was later reported that Chauvin believed that the case against him was so devastating that he agreed to plead guilty to third-degree murder. As part of
15004-443: Was set the next year. At an annual average of 56.3 inches (1,430 mm), snowfall is generally abundant. The Twin Cities area takes the brunt of many types of extreme weather, including high-speed straight-line winds, tornadoes, flash floods, drought, heat, bitter cold, and blizzards. The costliest weather disaster in Twin Cities history was a derecho event on May 15, 1998. Hail and wind damage exceeded $ 950 million, much of it in
15128-513: Was strongly influenced by early Scandinavian and Lutheran settlers, while Saint Paul was settled predominantly by the French , the Irish , and German Catholics . Both urban areas are home to new immigrant communities, including Mexicans , Somalis , Hmong , Indians , Oromo , Vietnamese , Cameroonians , and Liberians . "Twin Cities" is sometimes used to refer to the seven-county region governed by
15252-519: Was the basis of the 2006 film A Prairie Home Companion . The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theater is a sketch and improvisational comedy theater in Minneapolis. It is the nation's oldest comedy theater. The Current and the Walker Art Center host the annual music festival Rock the Garden , which features nationally recognized and local artists. The festival has been held annually since 2008 and has featured artists such as Lizzo , Hippo Campus , Chance
15376-523: Was unarmed or that Chauvin had kneeled on his neck for over nine minutes. At about the same time the police released their initial statement, Darnella Frazier , a bystander at the scene of Floyd's murder, uploaded a 10-minute video of the incident to Facebook and Instagram . The graphic video captured Floyd—while laying face down, handcuffed, and pinned by Chauvin's knee—saying he could not breathe and begging for his life as he lost consciousness. The video quickly went viral . Official reaction came early in
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