Brother of Wanted Man Shot by Minneapolis Police Calls for Better Justice System: ‘We Should Fight Together’

Winston Smith protests

The brother of Winston Smith, a wanted man who was shot and killed in an officer involved shooting incident after he pulled a gun on police, has spoken out about the need for police. He feels his brother’s death was an injustice but wants to work together with police to improve the justice system. 

Winston Smith’s brother, Kidale Smith, was seen shaking hands and hugging police officers who were out on the streets monitoring the protests that had been taking place since his brother’s death. He reported that he felt like maybe the police officers needed a voice too.

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Minneapolis Fugitive Killed by Marshals Posed for Photo with BLM Lawyer Ben Crump

Winston Smith, the man killed by U.S. Marshals in Minneapolis after he reportedly fired a weapon at them when they attempted to take him into custody over an outstanding state warrant, posed for a photo with high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump, apparently while he was a fugitive from justice. 

The photo was posted to Smith’s Instagram with the caption “#Greatness” on May 24. 

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Wanted Man Fatally Shot in Officer Involved Shooting in Minneapolis

A man, Winston Smith, 32 with multiple warrants out for his arrest was fatally shot on Thursday in Minneapolis after pulling out a handgun while being stopped by police. Riots broke out against police brutality again, due to the race of the man shot.

This instance took place while the city of Minneapolis was removing barriers at the monument that had been erected to honor George Floyd, the man killed by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin last May. 

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The City of Minneapolis Begins Reopening George Floyd Square

George Floyd Square

According to Fox News, the City of Minneapolis began removing barriers and trying to reopen the intersection on Thursday, after over a year of the section of street being occupied by protesters. 

George Floyd Square, which has been occupied by protesters since the death of George Floyd in May 2020, was “a makeshift shrine and focus of protests” and “a semi-autonomous, pedestrian territory symbolizing community resistance.”

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Protests Erupt in Minneapolis Following Removing Barriers at George Floyd Square and Officer Involved Shooting

George Floyd Square

Riots and protests broke out on Thursday after city officials began taking apart George Floyd Square to reopen the section for traffic. At the same time, a wanted man was killed in an officer involved shooting. 

Protests had already been occurring at George Floyd Square where workers were busy dismantling barriers and opening the roads again for traffic. There was pushback from those who were there protesting and some barriers were replaced.

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Minneapolis Asking City Employees Including Police Officers to Sign Letter in Support of Critical Race Theory

An email from the city of Minneapolis, written to all city employees, reveals that the employees are being asked to sign a letter acknowledging the “devastating intergenerational harms of systemic racism and racial injustice.” 

The letter was read to the public during the May 28, 2021 Minneapolis City Council meeting, by Daniel La Croix, with Minneapolis Regulatory Services. 

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Community Safety Program Announced to Curb Violence in Minneapolis

Minneapolis just announced a new community safety program in an attempt to stop the increase in violence that has occurred over the last year. 

This new initiative is backed by the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, as well as other leaders in the community. The goal is to help stop the explosion of gun crime in recent days, through an effort called Community Safety Specialists (CSS).

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30 Shots Fired in George Floyd Square on One Year Anniversary

In the middle of a gathering at George Floyd Square on May 25, 2021 commemorating the one year anniversary of the death of black man, George Floyd, while undergoing arrest by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, 30 shots were fired, sending one victim to the hospital. 

The gunfire erupted on live television, as seen on the ABC News live stream. A voice can be heard yelling at people to get down.

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Three Children Shot in Minneapolis, Residents Angry Over Government Inaction

As violent crime in Minneapolis continues to skyrocket, three young children were shot over the course of ten days. Prominent government officials have made no official statement regarding the violence that sent La’Davionne (10), Trinity (9), and Aniya (6) to the hospital in critical condition.

Aniya died in the hospital of her injuries on Wednesday, May 19th. The other two remain hospitalized.

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Minneapolis First-Responder Settlements Could Top $35 Million, Attorney Says

Protest in street with sign that reads"I CAN'T BREATHE. SAY HIS NAME! George Floyd"

The true cost of the riots after the death of George Floyd in police custody is starting to pile up on taxpayers.

This fallout could leave the Minneapolis Police Department short-staffed.

Minneapolis city leaders have begun signing large workers’ compensation packages for dozens of departing police officers, Fox 9 reports.

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Over 200 Officers Have Left the Minneapolis Police Department Since Last May

Over 200 police officers have left, are in the process of leaving, or are on extended leave from the Minneapolis Police Department. 

Several police officers explained it is due to lack of support and the feeling that they had to defend themselves throughout the course of the riots that plagued the city last summer, according to a report from WCCO in Minneapolis. 

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Police Refuse to Enter George Floyd Zone, Make Battered Woman Come to Them

Mural of George Floyd on the side of a building

The Minneapolis Police Department apparently will not enter the so-called “Free State of George Floyd” to respond to crimes.

In the early morning hours of April 29, a woman was pushed out of a window during a domestic dispute on the corner of East 38th Street and Elliot Avenue, sustaining multiple injuries, according to a police scanner watchdog. The woman dialed 911 to get help but was told that police would not come to her aid because she was inside George Floyd Square, an autonomous zone which has designated itself “cop-free.”

“Is it possible to have her move at least a block away, maybe [to] 38 and 10th?” a responding police officer can be heard asking dispatch in a recorded radio conversation.

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Three-Day George Floyd Commemoration Planned for May

A foundation created to memorialize George Floyd has announced a three-day commemoration planned for the year anniversary of his death at the end of May.

“Over three consecutive days at the end of May, the George Floyd Memorial Foundation will host a series of events to commemorate Floyd’s death,” KMSP reported. 

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Commentary: I No Longer Recognize My Hometown of Minneapolis

City of Minneapolis

Minneapolis is my home. My happiest memories are here. It’s where I learned to ride a bike, had my first date, received my high school diploma.

But today, I’m too afraid to even walk in my neighborhood by myself.

The ACE Hardware down the street? The one that I used to bike to in the summer? Robbed twice in the past five days.

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Lawsuit: Walz Admin Engaged in ‘Complete Fabrication’ of Risks Associated with Youth Sports in Minnesota

Youth football players

A court document filed last week claims Gov. Tim Walz’s administration attempted to pin the blame for COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities on youth sporting events without any evidence to back it up.

Let Them Play Minnesota previously filed a lawsuit against Walz for requiring youth athletes to wear masks while competing. Now, the group has amended its complaint to reflect evidence of the Walz administration’s effort to connect COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities to youth sports.

In its amended complaint, Let Them Play claims to be in possession of email evidence proving Walz officials engaged in a “complete fabrication” of the risks associated with youth sporting events.

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‘Enemy of the People’: Minneapolis Star-Tribune Publishes Biographical Information of Derek Chauvin Trial Jurors

Juror tag on dress shirt

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is being blasted online for releasing biographical information of all twelve jurors plus two alternates in the Derek Chauvin trial in the killing of George Floyd.

Without naming the jurors, reporters Paul Walsh and Hannah Sayle on Tuesday published enough details about their lives, internet sleuths and local snoops may be able to figure out who they are.

Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Star-Tribune, and Sayle is a digital features editor. Online critics are accusing the paper of trying to intimidate the jurors into reaching a guilty verdict.

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BLM Blocks Stillwater Man from Getting Home, Police Intervene and Detain Him

BLM protest

When Black Lives Matter (BLM) blocked a Minnesota man from his home, police intervened — arresting the man.

BLM protested Saturday outside the home of a county attorney responsible for bringing charges against former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, who recently shot Daunte Wright, apparently by accident. The protest was designed to pressure the attorney into upgrading Potter’s existing second-degree manslaughter charge to a murder charge.

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As Chauvin Trial Nears End, Minneapolis Passes Resolution Opposing Use of Non-Lethal Weapons

In a near-unanimous vote, the Minneapolis City Council passed a last-minute resolution Friday to condemn the use of non-lethal weapons such as tear gas and rubber bullets.

This comes as former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial in the death of George Floyd nears a verdict.

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Over 100 Portland Police Officers Have Quit Over the Last Year

Group of police officers

After almost a year of nonstop violent riots by Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and other far-left domestic terrorist organizations in the city of Portland, over 100 of the city’s police officers have quit the force out of protest of the city’s failure to adequately handle the violence, according to Fox News.

The report first came from the newspaper The Oregonian, which said that since July of 2020, approximately 115 officers have left the department to take lower-paying jobs just to get out of the dangerous environment. The paper described it as “one of the biggest waves of departures in recent memory.”

Out of 31 exit interviews from officers who left during this time period, the general consensus was that the officers quit because they felt that they were receiving “zero support” from the community and local leadership. One officer said that “the city council are raging idiots, in addition to being stupid,” and that “the mayor and council ignore actual facts on crime and policing in favor of radical leftist and anarchist fantasy.”

As a result of the spike in riots, which began last summer after the accidental overdose death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, Portland also saw its homicide rate surge to its highest point in 26 years, with 55 deaths over the course of 2020. Numerous efforts by Mayor Ted Wheeler (D-Ore.) to try to curb gun violence in the city, through special police forces and various multi-million dollar studies, have all failed thus far. Wheeler and other local leaders were widely criticized for refusing to crack down on the riots, with their inaction attributed to the fact that they shared many of the same political stances as the far-left rioters.

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Crime Remains a Problem on Light Rail Despite Huge Drop in Ridership

Metro Transit’s light rail lost more than half of its riders in 2020, but crime continued to flourish on the empty trains, according to documents obtained by Alpha News.

Light rail saw a decrease in ridership of 59% last year, largely due to an upsurge in telecommuters who no longer travel for work because of COVID-19.

Despite the diminishing ridership numbers, crime continued to ravage the passenger rail and its stations in 2020. Adjusting for 2020’s abnormally large decrease in ridership shows that the crime rate actually increased significantly in 2020.

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Minnesota Theater Cancels Cinderella Production Because Cast Was ‘Too White’

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

A suburban Minneapolis theater company has cancelled a production of “Cinderella” because its cast was “too white.”

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres was scheduled to stage Roger & Hammerstein’s classic play later this year before its artistic director stepped in to criticise its lack of racial diversity, twincities.com reported.

“It was 98 percent white,” Michael Brindisi, the theater’s artistic director, told the Twin Cities Pioneer Press on Wednesday after looking at the actors who had been cast. “That doesn’t work with what we’re saying we’re going to do.”

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Judge Won’t Delay or Move Chauvin Trial, Despite $27 Million Civil Settlement with Floyd Family

Derek Chauvin

Despite a $27 million civil settlement between the city of Minneapolis and the family of George Floyd, the judge in the high-profile trial of ex-Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin will continue as scheduled. 

“Unfortunately, the pretrial publicity will continue no matter how long we continue [the trial],” Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill said Friday. 

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Police Group Urges Minneapolis Leaders to Take Action on Autonomous Zone

The National Police Association (NPA) is calling on the city of Minneapolis to attend to its residents who live in or near the “autonomous zone” located at George Floyd Square.

“What the neighbors are saying, in the residential area, is that after darkness falls, criminals are using it to freely commit crimes, deal drugs, things like that, and they’re extremely frustrated,” NPA spokeswoman Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired sergeant, said in an interview with Fox News.

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Reporters Barred from Deadly ‘George Floyd’ Autonomous Zone in Minneapolis

Protestors have quietly set up an “autonomous zone” near the George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis, according to one reporter who visited the scene. 

“The George Floyd memorial is an ‘autonomous zone’ with several blocks controlled by activists. Police don’t even go in. We tried to respectfully get video-but left after two people confronted us near the barricades. Later learned many protestors don’t even feel comfortable there,” Brian Entin of News Nation Now reported. 

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Chauvin Trial Will Continue with Jury Selection Despite Active Appeal

The jury selection process in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd will continue despite an active appeal to reinstate previous charges, the Associated Press reported.

Judge Peter Cahill said he will continue with the trial unless the appeals court rules that a third-degree murder charge can be reinstated against former officer Derek Chauvin, the AP reported. Prosecutors have asked the court to pause the trial as the charges are considered.

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Minneapolis Suggests Business Owners Install ‘Permanent Security Gates’ Ahead of Chauvin Trial

City leaders encouraged Minneapolis business owners to consider installing “permanent security gates” ahead of ex-officer Derek Chauvin’s trial in the death of George Floyd.

The trial is set to begin Monday with jury selection but could face delays because of an appellate court’s Friday ruling that the presiding judge in the case erred when he didn’t reinstate charges of third-degree murder against Chauvin, The New York Times reported.

The downtown area is already heavily fortified, with businesses and government buildings boarding up their windows and installing barricades.

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State Democrats Now Want $300 Million for Twin Cities Riot Damage

Minnesota Democrats want $300 million for riot-damaged businesses, double what Gov. Tim Walz requested in his budget proposal.

Last summer’s riots caused an estimated $500 million in damage across the Twin Cities, but the debate over who will pay for the repairs has raged on ever since.

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Minneapolis Lifts Bar Seating Ban, Still Requires Multiple Distancing Rules

Residents of Minneapolis received a small reprieve from stringent COVID-19 restrictions Friday, but plenty of rules still remain in place. 

“The city of Minneapolis has lifted its ban on bar counter seating just in time for the weekend,” Minnesota Public Radio News (MPR) reported. “Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the decision was based on public health data, showing a decrease in COVID-19 cases in the city.”

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Destroyed Minneapolis Diner Sues City Claiming Negligence During Floyd Riots, Seeks $4.5 Million

A Minneapolis diner sued the city for not stopping rioters from demolishing its property. The lawsuit is the first since the May riots, which resulted in roughly $500 million in damages to properties located in the Twin Cities.

Kacey White and Charles Stotts, on behalf of Lake Street Town Talk Diner & Gastropub, filed a federal lawsuit arguing Mayor Jacob Frey and the city “stood back and watched as their failure to follow the policies in place destroyed the businesses on Lake Street.”

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Omar: Minneapolis Law Enforcement Officers Are ‘Unwilling to Work’

Rep. Ilhan Omar said the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is low on officers because cops are “unwilling to work.”

MPD just began 2021 with about 200 fewer officers than it had at the start of 2020 after losing 105 cops during a year filled with riots and anti-police sentiment. During a usual year, the department would expect to lose just over 40 officers. The city now has just 638 active officers.

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Union Files Complaint Against Minneapolis Schools over Plan to Resume In-Person Learning

A Minneapolis teachers union has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Minneapolis Public Schools because of the district’s plan to return to in-person learning next month.

The Minneapolis Board of Education voted 6-2 last week in favor of a phased-in return to in-person learning for K-5 students across the month of February. According to the plan, classes will be cancelled from Feb.1-5 to “allow staff to get ready to welcome back students back into buildings,” meaning teachers and staff are required to return to work on Feb. 1.

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105 Percent Increase in Shootings, 70 Percent Increase in Homicides in Minneapolis Last Year

Minneapolis experienced a 105% increase in shootings between 2019 and 2020, according to an end-of-year report presented to the City Council last week.

The city recorded 82 homicides in 2020, a 70% increase over 2019’s 48 homicides. Between 2016 and 2019, Minneapolis had an average homicide rate of 41, the report from the Minneapolis Police Department states.

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Salvadoran Gang Member Wanted for Murder Removed from Minnesota in the Final Days of Trump Administration

A Salvadoran gang member wanted on charges of aggravated murder, attempted murder and terrorism was removed from Minnesota during President Donald Trump’s final week in office.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 28-year-old Jose Wilmer Montano was removed from the United States on a charter flight coordinated by the agency’s Air Operations Unit and handed over to law enforcement in El Salvador on Jan. 15.

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Minneapolis City Council Votes to Raise Property Taxes, Cut $8 million from Police Budget But Aims for Higher Police Staffing Target

The Minneapolis City Council voted to cut $8 million from the Police Department (MPD) in their 2021 budget. However, the Council also also added a caveat to allow for additional future police recruitment, likely dodging a veto from Mayor Jacob Frey.

In a 7-6 vote Wednesday night, the council’s decision doesn’t change the number of officers in 2021, but sets a higher target number for replacing officers who are currently out on leave for post-traumatic stress disorders or other reasons with the council’s authorization.

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Judge Rules Minneapolis Residents Have Standing to Sue Over Police Reduction

Minneapolis residents have standing to sue the city over an alleged police staffing violation, Hennepin County District Court Judge Jamie Anderson has ruled. 

Anderson’s order rejected the city of Minneapolis’ attempt to throw out the lawsuit because the city said residents lacked standing to sue.

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Minnesota Man Enters Plea in Police Station Fire Amid Unrest

A Minnesota man pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of conspiracy to commit arson for helping set fire to a Minneapolis police station during civil unrest in the days following the death of George Floyd.

According to an indictment, Bryce Michael Williams, 26, of Staples, went to the Third Precinct building on May 28 where a crowd of hundreds gathered. At one point, the crowd began shouting, “Burn it down, burn it down” and a fence that surrounded the building was torn down.

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Minneapolis Might Hire Outside Law Enforcement to Fight Rising Violent Crime

Minneapolis Police Department

Five months ago, the Minneapolis City Council vowed to “dismantle” their police department.

But this week, the council voted 7-6 to advance a measure to temporarily hire between 20 and 40 additional officers from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Metro Transit Police to respond to violent 911 calls.

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Minneapolis BLM Protesters Chant: ‘Shoot Back at the Police’

Black Lives Matter protesters who marched through the streets of Minneapolis Tuesday night called for shooting the police.

“No justice, no peace. Shoot back at the police,” the crowd of protesters chanted four times before a new chant was started.

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Third Degree Murder Charge for Derek Chauvin Dropped, All Others Charges Remain

Derek Chauvin

A Hennepin County District Court Judge on Wednesday night chose to sustain eight of the nine total charges against the four defendants in the death of George Floyd while he was in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department. 

In a 107-page ruling, Judge Peter A. Cahill dropped Derek Chauvin’s third-degree murder charge, but sustained second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges against the former Minneapolis police officer.

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Minnesota’s Bonding Bill Includes More Than $11 Million for ‘Response to Civil Unrest’

The $1.9 billion bonding bill passed last week by the Minnesota Legislature includes upwards of $11 million for “costs incurred” during May’s Minneapolis riots.

The bill appropriates more than $5 million from the trunk highway fund and $3.5 million from the general fund to the Department of Public Safety “for costs incurred related to the response to civil unrest in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.”

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Minneapolis to Spend $2 Million of CARES Money on Tiny Houses for Homeless

The Minneapolis City Council on Friday voted to spend nearly $2 million of federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) money to house the homeless.

The council passed the proposal for the project dubbed Indoor Villages, which will be operated by Avivo, a company that offers treatment, recovery and employment services.

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Bombshell Report Blames Walz’s ‘Slow Decision Making’ for Extensive Riot Damage

A shocking report released this week provides an inside look at how state and local leaders responded to May’s Minneapolis riots, the second-most destructive period of local unrest in U.S. history.

The 55-page report is the product of four joint hearings convened by the Minnesota Senate and is based on testimony from witnesses, data practice requests, written testimony, press conferences and news articles.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar Linked to Cash-for-Ballots Voter Fraud Scheme in Minneapolis

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has been linked to a massive illegal vote-buying scheme in an elderly community in her heavily Somali district in Minneapolis. The illegal ballot harvesting operation is just the latest in a growing list of federal crimes the self-avowed democratic socialist is alleged to have committed in recent years, including marrying her brother to commit immigration fraud and student loan fraud.

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Woman Who Assaulted Alpha News Journalist Charged with Rioting, Assault and Disorderly Conduct

The woman who assaulted an Alpha News journalist last month has been identified as 37-year-old Lauren Patricia Peterson and was charged this week in Hennepin County District Court.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by Alpha News, Peterson faces charges of third-degree rioting, disorderly conduct, and two counts of fifth-degree assault.

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Feds Award $928 Million to Build Minnesota’s Green Line Light Rail Extension

The Federal Transit Administration Monday awarded Minnesota’s Green Line Light Rail Extension, also called the Southwest LRT project, a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) of nearly a billion dollars. 

Southwest LRT is a 14.5-mile line with 16 stations serving Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie.

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Dozens Arrested as Portland Riots Continue

by Andrew Selsky   PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered for rallies and marches against police violence and racial injustice Saturday night in Portland, Oregon, as often violent nightly protests that have happened for 100 days since George Floyd was killed showed no signs of ceasing. Molotov cocktails…

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Trump Campaign Discusses Biden’s Hands-Off Approach to Violent Rioters

President Donald Trump’s campaign issued a statement addressing Joe Biden’s reluctance to take on violent leftist rioters.

“Joe Biden just yesterday indicated he would not send the National Guard into cities and states where left-wing mobs are rioting – in Portland’s case, for more than three months. Last month he issued a written statement specifically about Portland, in which he called the rioters ‘peaceful protestors’ and accused federal law enforcement officers of ‘stoking the fires of division’ while the mob was literally setting fire to the federal courthouse. …”

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Trump Campaign Discusses Biden’s Hands-Off Approach to Violent Rioters

President Donald Trump’s campaign issued a statement addressing Joe Biden’s reluctance to take on violent leftist rioters.

“Joe Biden just yesterday indicated he would not send the National Guard into cities and states where left-wing mobs are rioting – in Portland’s case, for more than three months. Last month he issued a written statement specifically about Portland, in which he called the rioters ‘peaceful protestors’ and accused federal law enforcement officers of ‘stoking the fires of division’ while the mob was literally setting fire to the federal courthouse. …”

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