Daunte Wright protests: Video shows Navy vet parading pig’s head with cop hat on a pike in Brooklyn Center
On the fourth night of protests over Daunte Wright’s recent death, as Minnesota cops arrested 24 people for rioting and curfew violations, a man who calls himself a Navy veteran, paraded through Brooklyn Center with a severed pig's head, wearing a cop's hat, on a stake.
The unidentified man was attending protests outside the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police station on Wednesday, April 14 evening when he was spotted with the unusual apparatus.
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In a video of the scene shared on Reddit, the man can be seen interacting with other protesters who are separated from police by a metal fence. The pig head wears a police cap and the man parades around in front of an armoured police vehicle. If you listen to the audio of the footage very carefully, one can hear the man vaguely shouting questions like "what the f**k is a Sheriff doing in an armoured car" at police.
In the video, other protestors around him are seen egging and encouraging him to go on. Towards the end of the video, those filming the scene can be heard discussing if the pig head on the pike is a genuine head or not. They conclude that it does appear to be a real head.
According to the latest reports and the video, he does not appear to be among the 24 protesters who were arrested for rioting and curfew violations. In a press conference on Thursday, April 15, officials said most of those arrested were from outside Brooklyn Center, according to the Star Tribune.
According to a report in Fox News, the demonstrator, who doesn't wish to reveal his identity, said he is a Navy veteran. He told the outlet that his actions, along with those of his fellow protesters, were the need of the hour, a necessity. He claimed that the police officer who killed Daunte Wright "essentially works for an occupying force".
The man went on to explain that he believes "the institution of policing is bad. There's probably some really good folks... but they just have terrible jobs."
When the man was asked about Potter's recent release on bond after her second-degree manslaughter charge, he said, "To me, that's pretty much an outrage. I think that this lady essentially works for an occupying force here and she committed an act of war on somebody. I consider that an act of war. And she should not be out on bond. And it is not manslaughter. It is an act of war."
On social media, the act of protest has got people talking and how! There are mixed reactions to the pig's head on a pike with some disgusted and others in awe.
Calling out the method of protest, one user tweeted, "These people are deranged." Another user responded, "White guy with the pigs head looks like someone trying to get media and inflame tensions. Of course some focus on the idiots and ignore the peaceful protests to push their narrative," to one criticising, "Our NAVY training teaches respect? Minnesota cops arrested 24 people for rioting and curfew violations in the fourth night of protests over Daunte Wright’s police shooting death — with one man mocking officers by parading a severed pig’s head on a stake."
White guy with the pigs head looks like someone trying to get media and inflame tensions. Of course some focus on the idiots and ignore the peaceful protests to push their narrative.
— Failure is Not expected (@IsExpected) April 15, 2021