Mayhem in Minneapolis: protests, looting, fires

By: Max Nesterak and Ricardo Lopez - May 27, 2020 9:38 pm

Two men who declined to give their names said they supported the protest but not looting. They said they aimed to protect a tobacco store. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.

Peaceful demonstrations against the police for the killing of an unarmed Black man turned to looting and fires Wednesday, as Target, Aldi, Autozone and Cub Foods on Lake Street were all ransacked in a scene of mayhem.

For the second day, demonstrators came out to protest the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody Monday; in a widely shared video, Officer Derek Chauvin could be seen with his knee in Floyd’s neck just before his death.

The inside of the Target is smoky; people are trying to break into the cash registers. Alarm is blaring pic.twitter.com/qfd97sfNTr

— Ricardo Lopez (@rljourno) May 28, 2020

The chaos took place in two theaters. At the Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd Precinct, demonstrators barricaded themselves behind Target carts and threw objects at the precinct, while police returned fire with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Meanwhile, further east, looters took advantage of the lack of police presence, breaking into stores and setting fires.

Meanwhile, Target still being looted. It’s been over 3 hours. Many are wearing masks. pic.twitter.com/LZ4dAGHgMT

— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) May 28, 2020

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Max Nesterak

Max Nesterak is the deputy editor of the Reformer and reports on labor and housing. Most recently he was an associate producer for Minnesota Public Radio after a stint at NPR. He also co-founded the Behavioral Scientist and was a Fulbright Scholar to Berlin, Germany.

Ricardo Lopez

Ricardo Lopez is the senior political reporter for the Reformer. Ricardo is not new to Minnesota politics, previously reporting on the Dayton administration and statehouse for The Star Tribune from 2014 to 2017, and the Republican National Convention in 2016. Previously, he was a staff writer at The Los Angeles Times covering the California economy. He's a Las Vegas native who has adopted Minnesota as his home state. In his spare time, he likes to run, cook and volunteer with Save-a-Bull, a Minneapolis dog rescue group.