protests Archives - The Minnesota Sun

Commentary: Attacks on Pregnancy Centers Are More than Mere Protests

July 2, 2022July 1, 2022 Minnesota Sun Staff

There is great irony in the violence directed against pregnancy centers since the leak and then official release of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision. Reports of vandalism and destruction include graffiti such as “if abortions aren’t safe neither are you” and firebombing.

Pregnancy centers across America offer many services to women and men, their unborn children, and children post-birth—including pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease testing, ultrasounds, counseling, diapers, clothing, medical referrals for healthcare or community resources, and parenting classes. These services are provided free and funded by donations.

Abortion Activist Rants Outside Catholic Church: ‘I’m Killing the Motherf***ing Babies!’

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A woman dressed in a white bathing suit, stuffed in the front to make her appear pregnant, and with dolls hanging from it, ranted outside Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City Saturday, shouting, “I’m killiing the motherf***ing babies!” and “God killed his kid, why can’t I kill mine?”

The woman danced around outside the church in the rain, then complained, “My babies are all wet,” Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote at National Review, referring to this scene as “the most disturbing” of the pro-abortion protest that followed a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on a case that could overturn Roe v. Wade.

Canadian Trucker Urges Nationwide Strike over COVID-19 Rules in Viral Video

February 22, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

police officers standing outside in the snow

In a now-viral video an unidentified man encouraged a national strike in every Canadian business sector, along with active support for those who are opposing COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates in the country.

“You’ve seen what’s happening in Ottawa,” the man, whose face was blurred in the video, said. “Canadians are known around the world to be among the most kind, most peace-loving people anywhere. And so you know when Canadians star rising up by the millions, to oppose what their government is doing, something is horribly wrong.”

Trucker PAC Launches Fund to Support Protests Against U.S. COVID-19 Restrictions

February 22, 2022February 21, 2022 Minnesota Sun Staff

A political action committee is funding a series of trucker protests against COVD-19 restrictions in the U.S., mirroring efforts by Canadian truckers to lift the country’s vaccine mandates and rules.

The Great American Patriot Project (GAPP) launched a campaign Wednesday intended to organize and fund several truck convoys to begin in early March across the United States.

Commentary: Our Greatest Domestic Threat Is Pro-Government Extremists

February 13, 2022February 12, 2022 Minnesota Sun Staff

Joe Biden and his administration sitting in the Oval Office at the White House

Though alarming and depressing, we can no longer avoid recognizing that America’s greatest domestic threat is from pro-government extremists.

We rue that pro-government extremists caused immense destruction during their less-than-“peaceful protests” in 2020; and we witness the continuing damage caused by their neurotic, totalitarian response to a plethora of problems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic..

Indeed, what makes the pro-government extremists so dangerous is their far greater numbers than their anti-government extremist counterparts. Their noxious ideology that the citizen is subordinate to the omnipotent state is incessantly “normalized” and propagandized by their corporate media comrades.

‘If There Is Risk, There Must Be Choice’: Dr. Robert Malone Stirs Defeat Mandates Rally in DC

January 24, 2022January 23, 2022 Minnesota Sun Staff

Protesters opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates marched on Washington, D.C. on Sunday, embarking on a mile-long march before convening at a rally outside the Lincoln Memorial.

Organizers with Children’s Health Defense predicted 20,000 people would attend the event, Defeat the Mandates.

Speakers included Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., virologist and immunologist Dr. Robert Malone, investigative journalist Lara Logan, and doctors and other experts.

Progressive Lawmakers Offer Unwitting Path for January 6 Prisoners to Sue Federal Government

December 14, 2021December 13, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Some of the most progressive Democrats in Congress are supporting new legislation that could help an unexpected group: those who were arrested and imprisoned without trial for playing a role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Democratic Reps. Hank Johnson (Ga.) and Jamie Raskin (Md.) on Wednesday reintroduced the Bivens Act, which would allow citizens to recover damages for constitutional violations committed against them by federal law enforcement officials.

The bill, which the lawmakers first introduced last year, seeks “to provide a civil remedy for an individual whose rights have been violated by a person acting under federal authority.” It would do this by adding five words — “of the United States or” — to a longstanding provision enacted in 1871, known as Section 1983, which gives individuals the right to sue state or local officials who violate their civil and constitutional rights. The additional words would include federal officials in the statute.

Commentary: ‘Unprecedented’ Capitol Protest Sets New Precedents

November 13, 2021November 13, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Unprecedented: It is the word most often applied to the events at the Capitol on January 6.

In his remarks that afternoon, as the chaos was still ongoing, Joe Biden warned that “our democracy is under unprecedented attack.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Attorney General Merrick Garland, and leaders of both political parties also describe the four-hour mostly nonviolent disturbance at the Capitol complex as something without precedent.

“On January 6, 2021, the world witnessed a violent and unprecedented attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Vice President, Members of Congress, and the democratic process,” wrote Republican and Democratic senators in a joint committee report released earlier this year.

Antifa Harasses Judge After Decision to Bar Cameras from Kim Potter Trial

November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors set out to harass Judge Regina Chu, presiding over the trial of former Brooklyn Center Police officer Kimberly Potter, at Chu’s home over the weekend.

Potter is charged with first and second-degree manslaughter after killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright as Wright began to flee a traffic stop in April. Potter says she intended to shoot him with her taser, but shot him with her handgun instead.

Commentary: January 6 and the FBI’s ‘Operation Cold Snap’

October 17, 2021October 16, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Close up of Capitol with Trump and America flag in the wind

The tony, bucolic town of Dublin, Ohio would be one of the last places in America expected to host a convention of white supremacist militiamen. Nestled along the Scioto River, the Columbus suburb’s biggest claim to fame is hosting the PGA’s annual Memorial Golf tournament every summer.

But in June 2020, days after the nation was roiled by Black Lives Matter looting and rioting, a man from Wisconsin named Stephen Robeson sponsored a “National Militia Conference” at a Dublin hotel. (Yes, that was the real name of the event.)

According to BuzzFeed’s exceptional July 2021 investigative report on the FBI-led plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, Robeson “helped organize the national meeting, and he was enthusiastically pushing people he knew to attend.” The purpose of the conference was to recruit people who ultimately would stoke “political violence” against governors who refused to reopen their states after lockdowns supposedly necessitated by COVID.

New January 6 Related Police Records, Transcripts Appear to Show Babbitt Clearly Unarmed Before Shot

October 16, 2021October 15, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch announced Thursday that it has received over 500 pages of documents from the D.C. Metropolitan Police regarding the fatal police shooting of protester Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.

Judicial Watch obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in May after District officials failed to respond to requests made in April to the city’s police department and its Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for information related to Babbitt’s death.

The 35-year-old Babbitt was fatally shot trying to enter a secured area inside the U.S. Capitol Building. The 14-year Air Force veteran was unarmed at the time, as she tried to climb through a broken door window near the House chambers.

Commentary: The Insufferable Piety of the Progressive Elites

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Freedom in Australia is now at the mercy of a state and its police apparatus bent on controlling people’s every movement.

But despite the extensive footage of protests gone violent, neither American liberal media nor domestic social justice movements are raising alarms about police brutality in that country.

Commentary: New January 6 Stories That Complicate the Media Narrative

September 8, 2021September 7, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Associated Press reported in August that Robert Reeder, a Maryland man, pleaded guilty to “parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.” He argued for leniency because, “he is a registered Democrat who wasn’t a supporter of former President Donald Trump.” So why did he join the incursion into the Capitol building? Because, he says, he was an “accidental tourist” with nothing better to do.

But an online group that calls itself Sedition Hunters recently tweeted a picture it says shows that same “accidental tourist” attacking a police officer. Curiously, the “accidental tourist,” who didn’t support Donald Trump, happened to be wearing a red “MAGA”-style hat. His attorney argued in court, “Mr. Reeder is not politically active, is not and has never been a member of any right-wing or anti-government or extremist group and has, unfortunately, been publicly grouped with many others (whose) views he abhors.”

The story reminds one of John Sullivan, a Black Lives Matter activist who infiltrated the January 6 incursion to encourage violence, bully police officers, and generally stoke mayhem. While many of the trespassers remain locked up without bail, Sullivan mysteriously received pre-trial release.

Americans’ Allegiance to National Anthem Remains Strong Despite Protests, Poll Shows

August 18, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Polling ahead of the 2021 NFL season indicates that, despite an increasingly political landscape for the sport and its fans, Americans overwhelmingly would prefer that the National Anthem continue to be the sole anthem played prior to games.

According to a recent poll conducted by Newt Gingrich’s American Majority Project in conjunction with McLaughlin & Associates, a total of 61% of Americans believe that “only” the American National Anthem should be played at NFL Games. That figure ticks up slightly to 64% among Republicans, and falls to 58% among Independents, while 11% of those polled said they don’t know.

File
National Gingrich 360 Anthem X-tabs 8-3-21 .pdf
The poll was conducted in the wake of the NFL’s recent decision to play “Lift Every Voice and Sing” – often referred to as the black national anthem – before all games during the upcoming season, ahead of the playing of the American National Anthem. The song was initially introduced by the NFL when it was sung by Alicia Keys at the Super Bowl for the 2020-2021 season. The decision to play the song before each game is reportedly part of the league’s quarter-billion dollar investment in social justice messaging and initiatives.

PayPal Teams Up with Far-Left Anti-Defamation League to Target Right-Wing Users

July 28, 2021July 27, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

On Monday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a far-left hate group, announced a new initiative in conjunction with the online payment processor PayPal, aimed at targeting so-called “extremist and hate movements” on the platform, the Daily Caller reports.

The partnership is led by the ADL’s “Center on Extremism,” and will involve the ADL studying the use of PayPal’s services by alleged “extremists,” and sharing their findings with politicians and law enforcement, for the purpose of disrupting “the financial pipelines that support extremist and hate movements.” PayPal’s Chief Risk Officer Aaron Karczmer released a statement celebrating the new program as having the potential to make “an even greater impact than any of us could do on our own.”

PayPal has frequently and exclusively targeted conservatives in recent years, while ignoring actual extremism from the Left. Following the peaceful protests at the United States Capitol on January 6th, PayPal suspended its services for several organizations and individuals that paid for travel expenses for people attending the march, which was in protest of the widespread voter fraud that took place in the 2020 election. PayPal also banned the anti-terrorism website Jihad Watch in August of 2017, after Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters attacked a peaceful right-wing protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, leading to the death of one left-wing protester.

Commentary: The Fight for Freedom in Cuba

July 17, 2021July 16, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

2021 Cuban government protest in Naples Florida

Thousands of demonstrators in more than 40 cities and towns throughout Cuba have taken to the streets to protest 62 years of oppression. In a communist country that suppresses dissent, the recent wave of protests is the most significant grassroots stand against the dictatorship in more than three decades.

Since the end of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the Cuban people have lived under the oppressive rule of the Castro dictatorship. Upon Raúl Castro’s recent retirement, his handpicked successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel seized control of the Communist Party, Cuba’s only legal political party, and the presidency, in an election that was neither competitive, free, nor fair.

As the communist regime attempts to deflect blame for the state of unrest, basic goods and services are in short supply. The fact is Cuba is suffering from a severe economic crisis. Food is scarce, the health care system is overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and electricity outages are a regular occurrence.

Walt Whitman Statue, a Target of Protests, to Be Removed From Center of Rutgers–Camden Campus

July 13, 2021July 12, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Rutgers University-Camden Walt Whitman statue

Rutgers University-Camden will remove a statue of the famous poet Walt Whitman from the center of campus as a result of activists’ petitions and a recommendation from a committee of scholars.

The statue of Whitman, featured prominently in the front courtyard of Camden’s Campus Center, will be “relocated to a historically relevant site on campus and contextualized,” interim Chancellor Margaret Marsh recently announced in an email to students and employees.

That new location has yet to be announced by campus officials.

Utah House Passes Bill to Ban Critical Race Theory in Public Schools

July 13, 2021July 12, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Students in class, listening to the teacher at the front of the room

Utah is one of many states in America considering banning critical race theory in public schools.

Republican State Representative Steve Christiansen sponsored a bill that takes direct aim at critical race theory concepts being taught in public education. The bill passed the Utah House and is awaiting the signature of the Speaker to move onto the state Senate.

That bill, HR901, calls on the Utah Board of Education for a re-evaluation of guidelines to weed out critical race theory in publicly funded classrooms.

Commentary: The Founding Elite vs. The Current Elite

July 11, 2021July 10, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

In an insightful Independence Day Twitter thread, Emily Zanotti expressed her partiality for this provision of the Declaration of Independence:

[T]his is my favorite part: ‘And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.’ Can you imagine writing that? Signing your name to that? Acknowledging that this document means you will come out of this broke, dead, and remembered as a traitor if you do not win. Signing your own death warrant. Man, that took balls . . .

In recognizing and celebrating the signatories’ fortitude, Zanotti illuminated the stark contrast between the visions of America’s founding elite and its current elite.

Minneapolis Council Member Behind Defund Effort Blames Mayor for Crime Wave

May 12, 2021May 11, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Minneapolis City Council Pledges to Dismantle Police Department

A Minneapolis City Council member said his life was endangered when Mayor Jacob Frey criticized his “public commitment to defunding and abolishing” the police department.

Council Member Phillipe Cunningham has been engaged in a public spat with the mayor over the past several days and blamed him for the shocking uptick in crime across Minnesota’s largest city.

“Last night, 78 shots were fired in one incident in my ward. Within a 20 minute period there were five other incidents of shots fired throughout the ward last night, as well. I was informed by constituents that about two hours ago, an Amazon truck was hit with bullets near Loring School. This is just a few of the incidents that have taken place in the last 24 hours in just Ward 4,” Cunningham said in a Friday email to Frey.

Violent Crime Surged in These Cities After Mass Black Lives Matter, Anti-Police Protests

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Violent crime surged in several U.S. cities that saw massive Black Live Matter and anti-police protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death last summer.

The upswing of violent crime, including homicides, coincided with the protests, increased anti-police sentiment among Americans and declining morale in police departments, which have since struggled to recruit new officers. The number of murders alone increased by 36.7% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to public information compiled by data analytics reporter Jeff Asher.

“We are definitely at a critical manpower shortage here,” Louisville police union spokesperson Dave Mutchler told the Daily Caller News Foundation last week. “The climate that we all find ourselves in right now is a lot more demanding and stressful on officers.”

BLM Activists Block Traffic Outside Courthouse, Force People to Honk: ‘We’re Not Gonna Let You Through’

April 11, 2021April 10, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Black Lives Matter protesters have reportedly blocked traffic outside the Hennepin County Government Center and forced people to honk their horns “for justice.”
Black Lives Matter protesters stand in the street. Twitter/Alex Belser

Beginning on the first day of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd, BLM activists took to the streets to demand “honks for justice” from passing cars, as seen in a Fox News video.

When drivers refused to honk their horns, protesters prevented those cars from passing through.

Hundreds Gather in Streets as Jury Selection Begins in Chauvin Trial

March 9, 2021March 8, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Ahead of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s second-degree murder trial, hundreds have gathered in the heavily-fortified streets of Minneapolis to protest.

“Hundreds of people demanding justice for George Floyd and others killed by police as the trial of Derek Chauvin begins in Minneapolis,” Star-Tribune video journalist Mark Vancleave said on Twitter, attaching a video of the crowd.

Conservative Activists Protest at Bed Bath & Beyond for Removing MyPillow Products

February 1, 2021January 31, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Conservative activists gathered in-person to protest at a Bed Bath & Beyond store in California, in opposition to the company’s decision to cancel all MyPillow products due to the CEO’s support for President Trump, according to Breitbart.

The group consisted of members of the Media Action Network, an activism group founded by former Fox News executive Ken LaCorte. As part of the protest, the gathered members pretended to shop through the store, filling up their carts with various products, before leaving the filled carts behind throughout the store and leaving. They left behind brochures urging the chain to “stop promoting cancel culture,” and bring back MyPillow products.

Russian Police Arrest Thousands During Second Weekend of Pro-Democracy Protests

February 1, 2021January 31, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Over 4,000 pro-democracy protesters gathering in support of Alexi Navalny, a vocal Kremlin critic, have been detained by Russian police since the beginning of last weekend, according to local media and pro-democracy organizations.

The arrests have occurred across the country, from European cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg to far-eastern cities like Vladivostok, according to Russian monitoring groups, BBC reported.

Top House Democrat Calls on FBI to Investigate Parler’s Financing, Possible Ties to Russia

January 22, 2021January 21, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Democratic chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Thursday called on FBI Director Christopher Wray to investigate financing for Parler, including whether the social media site has any ties to Russia.

Part of Maloney’s rationale for investigating Parler’s links to Russia is that the social media site’s CEO, John Matze, founded the company shortly after traveling to Russia with his wife, who is Russian.

Rioters Vandalize Oregon Democratic Headquarters, Descend on Seattle

January 22, 2021January 21, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Riots broke out in Seattle and Portland, Oregon on Wednesday night after demonstrators clashed with police and vandalized a Democratic Party office.

People dressed in all black shattered windows and the glass door to the Oregon Democratic Party’s office in Portland, according to The New York Times, vandalizing it with spray paint and posting a video to social media, saying that their actions were in response to the inauguration of President Joe Biden. In Seattle, police said that several buildings were vandalized.

More Than 300 People from 29 States Arrested for Crimes During ‘Mostly Peaceful’ Protests

September 28, 2020September 27, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Daily Caller reports more than 300 people in 29 states and Washington D.C. have been charged with crimes including civil disorder, damaging federal property and attempted murder in connection with the nationwide demonstrations, the Justice Department said in a Thursday statement.

Riots Associated with Black Lives Matter Occurred in 96 Percent of America’s Top 50 Cities

September 12, 2020September 11, 2020 Jordan Bondurant

The violence in Portland and Seattle, in Minneapolis, Kenosha, Wisconsin and all across America over the last few months in connection with Black Lives Matter protests has dominated the headlines.

In places like Portland, the streets have become battlegrounds between local and federal police and leftist demonstrators, with arrests being made and deterrents like tear gas being used.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, has come out against his own police force and banned the use of tear gas effective September 10, even as the number of consecutive days in which protesting and rioting continues to climb into the triple digits.

Commentary: Trump Takes on the Real Pandemic of ‘Critical Race Theory’

September 8, 2020September 7, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

At long last, the president tackles the “critical race theory” infecting the federal workforce.
To be a freedom-loving individual in the year 2020, and to have a proper understanding of modern history and current events, is to be terrifyingly aware of just how much the liberty, prosperity, and stability of America and the free world depend on one thing and one thing alone—namely, the continued physical and intellectual health of a certain preternaturally brave, brilliant, and energetic 74-year-old named Donald Trump.

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

September 1, 2020August 31, 2020 Jason M. Reynolds

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. …”

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

September 1, 2020 Jason M. Reynolds

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

Police Union HQ Targeted at Portland Protest, 25 Arrested

August 26, 2020August 25, 2020 The Associated Press

Protesters repeatedly set fire late Monday night to a police union headquarters building and were repelled by officers spraying tear gas, officials said. Twenty-five people were arrested amid clashes that stretched into Tuesday morning.

People in a group of about 300 people hurled rocks and bottles at officers and set three fires to the sides of the building and one to an awning, police said. All the fires were put out.

Portland Police, Protesters Clash for Second Consecutive Night

August 7, 2020August 6, 2020 The Associated Press

Police and protesters in Portland, Oregon, have clashed for the second night in a row and the city’s police chief says the ongoing violence is harming the city’s image.

The high-profile clashes outside a U.S. courthouse in Portland, Oregon, have largely stopped since Democratic Gov. Kate Brown reached a deal that called for the draw down of federal agents sent by the Trump administration to protect the building.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig Cites Unified City, Not Backing Down for Peaceful City Among Protests

July 30, 2020July 29, 2020 Jordyn Pair

Detroit Police Chief James Craig credited the city’s success in remaining peaceful during nationwide protests and riots with having a city that has stood together and a police force that refuses to give up “the ground to the radicals.”

In an appearance on Fox News’s Tucker Carlson Tonight on Tuesday, Craig told Carlson that “we don’t retreat here in Detroit.”

Portland Mayor Tear Gassed During Wednesday Protests

July 24, 2020July 23, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland, Oregon was tear gassed Wednesday night while he was at the federal courthouse speaking with protesters, according to a video shared on Twitter.

“I’m not gonna lie, it stings, it’s hard to breathe. Man, uh, I can tell you with 100% honesty, I saw nothing that provoked this response. It’s absolutely stunning. I’m not afraid, but I am pissed off,” Wheeler said in a video tweeted by reporter Mike Baker of The New York Times.

Minnesota Lawmaker Asks Federal Government to Withhold Transportation Funds if Highway Protests Continue

July 16, 2020July 15, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

A Minnesota lawmaker has asked the federal government to withhold federal transportation funds from the state if leaders continue to allow protesters to block highways.

“In the last few months, we have seen two of our primary interstates blocked by protesters, 35 and 94, with the acquiescence of state and local officials. While some arrests have been made, the penalty for this offense is low; it encourages others to protest in the same way,” Rep. Cal Bahr (R-East Bethel) said in a letter sent Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr.

Serbia Police Detain 71 After Fourth Night of Virus Protests

July 12, 2020July 11, 2020 The Associated Press

Serbian police detained 71 people after clashes during the fourth night of anti-government protests against the Serbian president that were initially sparked by his plans to reintroduce a coronavirus lockdown.

Fourteen policemen were injured in the rioting Friday evening when hundreds of right-wing demonstrators tried to storm the parliament building in downtown Belgrade, police director Vladimir Rebic said Saturday. Many demonstrators and several reporters were also injured in the protests. More protests were expected Saturday night.

Protesters Topple, Behead Christopher Columbus Statues in Richmond And Boston

June 11, 2020June 10, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Protesters attacked Christopher Columbus statues in Richmond, Virginia and Boston Tuesday night.

The Columbus statue in Richmond’s Byrd Park was toppled, set on fire, and thrown into a nearby lake, ABC affiliate WRIC News reported. The Boston statue, located in Christopher Columbus Park, was discovered decapitated Wednesday morning, according to Boston 25 News.

Analysis: Media Outlets Stir Racial Strife and Slander Trump for Urging Governors to Protect People’s Rights

June 10, 2020June 9, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

After falsely accusing the U.S. Park Police of tear-gassing peaceful protesters on behalf of President Trump, many media outlets and politicians are claiming that he called on governors to forcibly “dominate protestors.” Quite the opposite, Trump explicitly stated he is an “ally of all peaceful protesters” and that it is the “professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters” and other lawbreakers who should be stopped.

Beyond their failure to draw a distinction between peaceful demonstrators and violent lawbreakers, the same cadre of media outlets are stirring racial strife by using anecdotes and half-truths to paint a false picture of systemic police violence against African Americans.

Minneapolis Bans Police Chokeholds, Neck Restraints in Wake of George Floyd Death

June 6, 2020 The Associated Press

Minneapolis agreed Friday to ban chokeholds by police and to require officers to try to stop any other officers they see using improper force, in the first concrete steps to remake the city’s police department since George Floyd’s death.

The changes are part of a stipulation between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which launched a civil rights investigation this week in response to the death of Floyd. The City Council approved the agreement 12-0.

City of Minneapolis, State Patrol Sued for Attacks on Journalists During Riots

June 5, 2020June 4, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

A class-action lawsuit was filed this week against the leaders of the Minneapolis Police Department, the Minnesota State Patrol, and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for their “attacks” on journalists during last week’s riots.

“The press is under assault in our City. Over the past week, the Minneapolis Police and the Minnesota State Patrol have tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, shot in the face with rubber bullets, arrested without cause, and threatened journalists at gunpoint, all after these journalists identified themselves and were otherwise clearly engaged in their reporting duties,” states the lawsuit.

Minnesota GOP Chairwoman Calls for Resignation of Mayor Frey, Governor Walz

June 4, 2020June 4, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan called on Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to resign for their “failed” leadership during last week’s riots.

“Gov. Walz and Mayor Frey have been largely silent, other than a handful of unhelpful tweets and press conferences blaming everyone but themselves. Minneapolis is decimated. Minneapolis is damaged to a level we never could have imagined. The destruction caused this past week will unfortunately live in our memories forever. It’s a dark stain on our state,” Carnahan said in a statement released over the weekend.

St. Paul Man Charged with Attempted Murder for Shooting at Police During Riots

June 4, 2020June 5, 2020 The Associated Press

One Minnesota man has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting at police officers during unrest in Minneapolis last week, while two others face federal charges for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails into a suburban government building, according to charges made public Tuesday.

The charges are the latest to stem from unrest following the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes, ignoring Floyd’s cries that he couldn’t breathe.

Two Killed During Protests in Oakland, Detroit Over Police Death of George Floyd

May 31, 2020May 30, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Two people, including a federal security contractor, were killed Friday night during protests over the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was killed in police custody earlier this week, according to police and the FBI.

The FBI is investigating the fatal shooting of a Federal Protective Services officer outside of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland on Friday, reported the San Francisco Gate.

Shocking Footage Shows Minneapolis Protesters Wreaking Havoc on Police Precinct, Destroying Squad Cars, Looting Target

May 28, 2020May 28, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

Officers with the Minneapolis Police Department were reportedly attacked with rocks and paintballs Tuesday night as protesters rioted in response to the death of George Floyd.

Video from the tragic Monday night incident shows a Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee into the neck of a handcuffed Floyd, who repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Floyd was pronounced dead shortly after he was taken into custody.