Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly minted running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is facing scrutiny for his handling of the May 2020 riots in Minneapolis that resulted in over 1,000 businesses and a police station being burned down, according to a state Senate report.
The 60-year-old Democratic governor was criticized by the Republican-controlled Minnesota Senate’s Joint Transportation and Judiciary and Public Safety Committee for delaying the deployment of the National Guard, failing to coordinate with local police, downplaying the potential for riots, and allowing his adult daughter access to confidential information that endangered first responders during the riots that erupted following George Floyd’s death in police custody.
The state Senate’s October 2020 postmortem determined that Walz mobilized the Minnesota National Guard on the afternoon of May 28, 18 hours after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey first requested assistance and a day after the city’s police chief requested at least 600 National Guardsmen to control the riots.
Republican state Sen. Warren Limmer told the New York Times that Walz “froze under pressure” and suggested that the governor’s “personal sympathies” toward the rioters might have influenced his slow response. When Walz eventually deployed the Guard, it was significantly fewer than the requested number.
“The request was sent for at least 600 guardsmen at 9:11 p.m. Wednesday, May 27,” the Senate report stated. “Governor Walz eventually produced 100 guardsmen for the City of Minneapolis late in the evening on Thursday, May 28.”
Amid the riots, Walz’s daughter, Hope, appeared to try to inform the arsonists and looters about the slow National Guard response through tweets. “The guard will not be present tonight,” she tweeted on May 28, 2020, and followed up with information on the Guard’s deployment process.
The Senate committee pointed to Hope’s tweets as evidence that Walz “allowed his adult daughter to access confidential information that she then disseminated to the general public and rioters.” On the same night, rioters overran and set ablaze the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct station.
“The commitment to hold the third [Precinct] was one I was not comfortable with,” Walz said during a press conference at the time, defending the decision to evacuate the precinct rather than confront the rioters.
The investigation also found that Walz “never reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department to understand the situation on the ground better” and that his administration did not fully utilize state resources like the Minnesota State Patrol or the National Guard’s aviation support to monitor rioters’ movements.
Furthermore, Walz underestimated the rioters’ determination to cause destruction. The report stated that the administration did not expect the rioting to escalate or continue between May 26 and May 29.
Walz acknowledged the government’s response was “an abject failure that cannot happen.” Recently, he stated, “I simply believe that we try to do the best we can,” when asked about his response to the riots.
Meanwhile, Harris — just days after the Minneapolis police station was set on fire — asked her Twitter followers on June 1, 2020, to donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund to help bail out arrested protesters.
The fund received over $30 million in donations and aims to pay bail for those unable to afford it.
Greg Lewin, the fund’s interim executive director at the time, told McClatchy in 2021 that Harris did not personally bail out rioters or have any other interaction with the group.
However, Harris also voiced support for “defunding the police” and reallocating resources during a media tour in the aftermath of the riots, emphasizing the need to review law enforcement budgets and address systemic issues.
“This whole movement is about rightly saying, we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out whether it reflects the right priorities,” Harris said during a June 9, 2020, appearance on the New York-based radio show “Ebro in the Morning,” according to CNN. “Any progress we have gained has been because people took to the streets,” Harris added, signalling strong support for the protests.
