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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPlease, PLEASE read this about the Mpls. protests - from Minnesota Public Radio!
I've seen too much misunderstanding and off-the-wall speculation about the whole "outside agitator" stuff in Minneapolis and St. Paul going around DU, that I really hope DUers will take the time to read this piece.
As a Minnesota resident who has been continuously glued to all the local TV coverage since Friday, as well as monitoring local Twitter feeds directly from the communities involved, this article is the most accurate accounting of the "outside agitator" phenomenon that I've come across, so far:
The killing of George Floyd
Outsiders, extremists are among those fomenting violence in Twin Cities
Jon Collins and Elizabeth Shockman
May 30, 2020 3:17 p.m.
Updated: 8:34 a.m., May 31, 2020
On his way home from a protest Friday night in Minneapolis, Jonathan Turner Bargen encountered a white man in a red pickup truck. The man was carrying an assault rifle and a handgun, Turner Bargen said. Then he noticed a symbol from the far-right militia group Three Percenters affixed to the truck.
I circled back and took pictures of the vehicle. I was concerned about why they were present at the downtown protest, and had no idea who to notify, said Turner Bargen in an email to MPR News.
<snip>
Accounts of armed men
Protesters and onlookers have posted numerous videos and accounts of confrontations with white men on social media, sometimes including symbols associated with fringe groups that originated online.
Many people have also told MPR News reporters of witnessing armed men in Minneapolis.
Bridget Schumann was out for a run near Calhoun Square in south Minneapolis on Friday night when she saw a truck that was being driven aggressively, honking and intimidating other drivers. The truck had a big white sticker on the back of the cab with the OK sign symbol associated with white supremacists.
There were two men in the driver and passenger seat and they were wearing camo bulletproof vests and they were armed, she said.
<snip>
In the predawn hours of Friday, KJ Starr watched from her yard in the Seward neighborhood, which has been especially hard hit by arson, as nearby buildings were consumed by balls of fire and billowing smoke.
With police and firefighters nowhere in sight, Starr and friends have been trying to fight fires themselves. When a nearby pizza shop went up in flames, she and some friends walked over to see what they could do. She was terrified by what she saw.
This pickup truck of a dozen armed men just pulls up next to us, she said. I just did a total pivot.
Arson at a liquor store
Minneapolis resident Rishi Ragoonanan woke up early for work on Friday morning, and saw a man who appeared to be white walk up to boxes of cardboard in the middle of a liquor store parking lot. The man lit the boxes, pushed them up against the wall of the store, and walked away.
Ragoonanan and neighbors ran outside and dragged the flaming boxes away from the wall. The liquor store was set on fire again the next night.
None of us got any sleep for the last four days, trying to save this liquor store, Ragoonanan said. If this liquor catches fire, this whole neighborhood will burn down.
Many people say they are leery of confronting those they suspect of contributing to the violence.
<snip>
Theyre setting these fires
People attending protests against police brutality have had run-ins as well.
DeVario Bogenholm, a 23-year-old whos lived in Minneapolis for most of his life, blames outsiders, who are mostly white, for turning peaceful protests violent Friday night. He turned to Facebook to post a video of him and a friend confronting a group of young, white men who were smashing out storefront windows.
Whos destroying these buildings? These white dudes and were stopping them, his friend, Noah Saba, said to the camera, then waved the phone to show footage of a group of white men on bicycles in front of a group of vandalized and burning buildings, Theyre setting these fires.
...Bogenholm said the video doesnt fully capture the mob, with people of color largely at the back of the crowd and young white men initiating the damage to buildings.
<snip>
Hundreds of buildings across the Twin Cities have been damaged in the riots. A native youth cultural center, neighborhood bars and a building full of artist studios (my bold) are among the structures that have been set on fire.
Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison spent Friday night driving around his ward to ensure people stayed safe. He said property destruction at protests, which he doesnt support, normally is focused on symbols of power like police cars.
When you see no protest, theres no mob sweeping through the north side, yet you see these fires popping up the main business corridor, thats the thing that rang odd to me, Ellison said. Burning down small black- and immigrant-owned businesses, that doesnt seem in lockstep with the tone of the protests.
<snip>
Alexia Kelsey went out to the protest site Friday to help clean. She said the hair on the back of her neck rose after she saw a vehicle carrying two armed white men that had a bumper sticker associated with neo-Nazis.
As a white ally, its even more important to support the black community and provide a unified front, Kelsey said. Its tough because it seems like theyre using the opportunity of the cover of night to really ignite the violence.
<snip>
This is no longer about protesting, said {Minneapolis Mayor, Jacob} Frey. This is no longer about verbal expression. This is about violence, and we need to make sure that it stops.
{St. Paul Mayor, Melvin} Carter said that the outside agitators are using peaceful protesters as a human shield, committing acts of destruction and violence and then melting back into the crowd.
{Minnesota Governor, Tim} Walz urged Minnesotans to abide by curfews.
If youre out after 8 oclock, you are aiding and abetting them and you are giving them the cover that they want, Walz said.
Please go to the link to read the whole article! Thank you.
Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)Trump just made it so anyone who is "antifa," which means anti-fascism, which was what America was in WWII, is a terrorist. That means either march in lockstep with the Nazis and the KKK or you are a terrorist and not an American any more and you have no rights. Remember Gitmo?
So, the right wing racist groups are angels and we are all terrorists now. That's basically the new normal. I get it.
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)simply for being against racist lynchings of black people and anti-fascism?
This is fucked. Watch Europe. This is going to be hideous. We have GOT to get rid of that fucker in November.
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)And yes, We have GOT to get rid of that fucker in November.
AllyCat
(16,152 posts)warmfeet
(3,321 posts)the founders of this country were terrorists. I have no problem with that. I am against fascism - always will be. I am against authoritarianism - always will be.
I am for life - always will be!
Antifa is being used as a scape goat, as I am sure everyone here knows.
Generic Other
(28,979 posts)Trump's "vicious dogs..."
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)These white armed right wingers don't need 'orders from the top', they are self-motivated.
Generic Other
(28,979 posts)Instigated by Trump. Not a conspiracy theory. I heard him encourage MAGAs and others.
KT2000
(20,568 posts)He told them to show up.
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)I don't the timeline of his tweets relative to the Mpls. protests matches up.
Generic Other
(28,979 posts)Walleye
(30,980 posts)Mercurian
(48 posts)It's a wag the dog situation. The Beer-belly Brigades are causing random destruction, hoping the protestors will be blamed. Their goal is that Dear Leader will use the chaos they've created as an excuse to give them the race war they crave.
wnylib
(21,341 posts)That is what the TW agitation.is all about.
cayugafalls
(5,639 posts)Things got really out of hand after he tweeted that phrase. It seriously escalated all over the country.
Cops in New York on video throwing the hand sign, lots more out of state vehicles and white supremacists causing trouble.
The left has been demonized and discredited. We are now labeled as terrorists. I guarantee Talk Radio will be all over that talking point Monday and calling for the arrest of anyone who is Anti fascist or protesting this government.
God save the Republic.
Kaiserguy
(740 posts)to declare marital law. He think that by doing that he can postpone the election and make himself dictator for life.
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)Not just word of mouth.
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)People have been sending their phone videos to MPR or posting to Facebook and Twitter.
tblue37
(65,227 posts)One is the guy with the gas mask and umbrella and the black person in a pink shirt chasing him away and following him. One is a group of white guys breaking windows while a black woman yells at them to stop. One is a group of white guys starting to break windows, but a group of black protesters chase them away. One is a group of white guys vandalizing cars in a parking lot.
If I have already seen 4 such videos, I bet there are more that I haven't seen.
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)I can't play them, unfortunately.
MuchBetterThanThis
(32 posts)I saw the guy with the umbrella on here and it seemed to be a hot topic. But nobodys following up it seems.. Was it debunked?
intheflow
(28,443 posts)too much happening at once, and a endlessly awful desire of white people wanting to deflect blame/ignore the serial killers in their own home.
Karadeniz
(22,473 posts)The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,603 posts)scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)I know you're closer in.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,603 posts)"May you live in interesting times," they said. Could I please be bored for a change?
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)Maeve
(42,271 posts)Like Manson, they want to tip us into civil war.
randr
(12,409 posts)Generic Other
(28,979 posts)Often with black bystanders yelling at them to stop.
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)I would also mention that from this morning's MN Governor press conference, the authorities are well aware of the armed instigators.
ancianita
(35,933 posts)and expecting media to amplify it.
Good post from MN Public Radio. Thank you!
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)You're welcome!
JustFiveMoreMinutes
(2,133 posts)I don't know about either of them... I'm fine with the info I get and have no clandestine activities that I need to hide......
Does Homeland Security, CIA, FBI, your neighbor kid down the street have means to infiltrate and decipher anything related to the insurgency?
(If not, wow... )
ancianita
(35,933 posts)Doesn't mean he doesn't keep an eye on them. Reddit's forums are easily accessible. But who'd want to enter the wild west of the dark net but techies, right?
Hate doesn't confer authority or legitimacy on the right. It's something they've never figured out, since they can bullshit so many people whose bodies got bigger but never grew up.
cayugafalls
(5,639 posts)He has emboldened and given the far right nationalist movement the cover they needed. He has called them good people and dog whistled almost daily.
Trump has turned off the light and allowed the cockroaches to come out and destroy and wreak havoc.
ancianita
(35,933 posts)The majority of Americans are polling negatively on all things Trump, that's how well he hijacks. Right?
WE run the lights up in here! Do not believe the doubt machine hype.
cayugafalls
(5,639 posts)And afraid. I live with in Trump central and see it everyday. I have a mixed marriage and have experienced the fear and racism first hand. Having to flee in our car because racist chasing us in their pickup truck. Held my son's hand when he cries after being bullied and tormented.
We don't run the lights where I live...
I'll try and do better. Thank you.
ancianita
(35,933 posts)What? You do better every single time you're here.
We're getting on top of this and having influence on governors and mayors. I hear you about the darkness all around. I'm in Trump central, too. But we've got the convenient covid excuse to mentally distance from each other until they can learn coherent, fact-based sentence construction.
Stay safe!
SunSeeker
(51,513 posts)They should have been there marching WITH the protesters. This destruction would have never happened if they had done that.
This is how you do it:
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/05/31/genesee-county-sheriff-christopher-swanson-george-floyd-protesters/5299589002/
cayugafalls
(5,639 posts)They let it all happen.
It is a very good question. Why stand down for two days? Why let it all burn down before doing anything?
ancianita
(35,933 posts)cayugafalls
(5,639 posts)I will try and do better.
Thank you.
ancianita
(35,933 posts)We can map the models, attitudes of police chiefs and their plans, to see what's worked.
It's a big country with a lot of unpredictable dynamics, but even that is instructive.
Alex4Martinez
(2,193 posts)I saw it earlier, I know it's not representative of many community police forces but it represents what every force SHOULD be.
BamaRefugee
(3,483 posts)BadgerMom
(2,770 posts)I hope every domestic terrorist group-every right wing, anti-government, white supremacist group-is identified and tracked by a revived DOJ. No whining from the hate-filled, greedy, ineffective group of traitors called the Republicans. I have NO fucks left to give.
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)Very well said!
The Democrats are going to have a lot of repairing of the damage the GOP has done to this country.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,258 posts)Normanart
(279 posts)The police are the ones committing the arson and property damage. The well situated network of first amendment auditors (people with good cameras who record the police) have positively identified at least one such police officer. Outside agitators have also been recorded doing the damage, while well armed. The peaceful protestors get the blame, while news reporters get gassed, sprayed, and arrested. This all seems a prelude to martial law.
liberalla
(9,224 posts)Thanks
ladym55
(2,577 posts)The information we are getting is so garbled at this point. I am not buying Donny and Billy's "Antifa" line, but that appears to be what M$M is pushing big time.
Blue Owl
(50,270 posts)n/t