By Thursday, May 28, 2020, riots had plagued the city of Minneapolis for over three days. The Black Lives Matter rioters focused much of their attention on the Minneapolis Police Department's 3rd Precinct as officer Derek Chauvin, who was later convicted of killing George Floyd, had been assigned to that station.
The day after the video of George Floyd being arrested by Chauvin went viral, May 25, rioters attacked the 3rd Precinct and would continue to do so until the thinly stretched officers were ordered to evacuate the building on Thursday. As scenes of their retreat and the fire that consumed the front of the station were blasted across the American media, many people were asking: Where is the Minnesota National Guard?
This was the moment I filled in 2020 when BLM rioters attacked Minneapolis Police as they evacuated the 3rd Precinct.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 6, 2024
Under Gov. Walz’s leadership and despite days of rioting, the MN National Guard hadn’t fully deployed at that point.pic.twitter.com/KoxAAYiUIN
While Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) received much-deserved criticism for how his administration handled the widespread riots, the decision to deploy a state's National Guard rests on either the president or the governor.