Global Courant 2023-05-01 19:53:01
Pentagon emails in the hours before protests in response to George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis turned destructive, show leaders were warned that the situation could turn deadly and that the Minnesota National Guard was ready to help.
“We were let down,” a local government official said of the response to the protests in a Wilder Research report commissioned by the state in the wake of the protests, according to a report from Military.com on Sunday. . “By the time the National Guard even showed up, almost everything had calmed down.”
Emails obtained by the Minneapolis Star Tribune reveal that on the morning of May 28, 2020, just days after Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, U.S. General Joseph L. Lengyel warned top Pentagon leaders that the situation in the city is likely to get bad. Minneapolis police expected about 75,000 protesters to come to the city the weekend after Floyd’s death, which had already sparked a mass outcry.
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Flames from a nearby fire illuminate protesters standing on a barricade in front of the Third Police Precinct in Minneapolis on May 28, 2020 during a protest over the death of George Floyd. (Getty)
Lengyel told Pentagon officials, including Deputy Secretary of Defense David Nordquist and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, that the Minnesota National Guard had 200 military police officers on standby to assist local law enforcement officers. if they were called.
“They are willing to be armed if MPD and the governor request it,” the email said.
The emails show that the Minnesota National Guard was preparing to move into town, with units setting up command posts in Monticello, Stillwater and Arden Hills. However, Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard Jon Jensen said in emails that the Guard units were still awaiting orders from the Minneapolis Police Department and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
“Following last night’s violence, things have been expedited by the state director of public security,” Walz said in an email on the morning of May 28. “We’ve worked with the Minneapolis Police Department before — we supported them extensively during Super Bowl 52 in 2018 — we know their leadership and they know us.”
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Jensen said the Minnesota State Police and other law enforcement agencies already received support from the Minneapolis Police Department through mutual aid agreements, but the National Guard could provide an additional 200 military police officers to be “the reserve’s reserve.”
“Once we receive our mission from MPD, I will follow up,” he said. “Currently: expect 200 (military police) for several days.”
A building goes up in flames during the George Floyd riots. (Getty Images)
However, the National Guard’s response to the crisis was delayed, with aid reaching the city only after many of the riots had already subsided. While the 75,000 protesters failed to materialize, the numbers that did show up overwhelmed local law enforcement by vandalizing and setting fire to several city buildings as Minneapolis residents attempted to defend their homes and businesses with baseball bats and garden hoses.
At 10 p.m. on May 28, the police surrendered the Third Precinct and the country watched as the police building was set ablaze in a blaze that would ultimately result in a total loss of the building.
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“No joy,” Milley wrote in an email as the police building burned down, also noting that he had just met with then-President Donald Trump and needed Defense Secretary Mark Esper to “call me ASAP.”
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Mark Milley. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
In the wake of the failure, leaders struggled to blame others, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fray saying he requested the governor the night before to send in the National Guard.
“He didn’t say yes,” Frey would later tell the Star Tribune about his request. “He said he would consider it.”
However, action reports showed that the city also failed to comply with two policies that dictate how to call the National Guard for assistance in the event of a large-scale disturbance, including not calling the Office of Emergency Management, which meant guard commanders. could not start the implementation because they had not received enough useful information.”
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“We needed some specificity,” a government official said in the Wilder report. “We tried to understand what Minneapolis needed so we can articulate that into something doable by General Jensen and the Minnesota National Guard.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. (Stephen Ripen/Getty Images)
Nevertheless, a spokesman for the National Guard told Military.com that the authority to deploy the National Guard ultimately rests with the governor.
“The governor’s office is directing the National Guard to respond — when and where,” the spokesman said. “That’s how every state will tell you it goes.”
Frey and Walz’s offices did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.
Michael Lee is a writer at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @UAMichaelLee
