George Floyd death: Two armed white men guard Minneapolis streets and protect stores as protests turn violent
The death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has ignited riots and to fend off protesters who have restored to looting, a few armed individuals have taken guard outside shops in the city. Minnesota has seen consecutive nights of protests on Tuesday, May 26, and Wednesday, May 27, after Floyd was killed by a white police officer. Stephen (surname not revealed), one of the armed men who have called themselves "armed rednecks", told Daily Mail that he took his AR-style pistol to the Lake Street area in South Minneapolis to stop the looting and protect the peaceful protesters. He was accompanied by three friends -- Michael Solomon, also a white, and two masked African-American men who he didn’t name.
An unarmed Floyd was killed after the cop named Derek Chauvin forced his knee on his neck after pinning him to the ground in a deadly arrest on Monday (May 25) night, which was caught on camera. Floyd kept on requesting for help saying he could not breathe but to no avail. California’s Democratic Representative Maxine Waters was so outraged that she said the cop, who was fired later, “enjoyed doing what he was doing” and was determined to kill someone that day. The Floyd incident came just days after a white father-son duo was arrested after a video went viral showing them shooting a 25-year-old African-American youth named Ahmaud Arbery when he was out for morning jogging in Brunswick, Georgia. The incident happened in February but the culprits were held only in the first week of May after the video caused an explosion on social media.
The protests against Floyd’s death turned deadly and one man was killed on Wednesday night, reportedly shot dead by a shop owner. Sources in the Minneapolis fire department said crews were in action to respond to around 30 fires along East Lake Street between Wednesday evening and early Thursday (May 28) morning. Fire vehicles were attacked but no firefighter was hurt, the Daily Mail report added.
'Armed rednecks' supported protest but not looting
Stephen said he and his other friends taking up the protectors’ role, met through recent gun rights rallies. They said while they supported the protests that took place after Floyd’s death, they did not support the loot and arson. Stephen calls himself on Facebook as "a warrior sage". “An American patriot, love my nation. I'll spread hope like fire”, he adds. His page also promotes an "OTSS War" where "OTSS" stands for "only the strong survive."
“We went out for a couple of reasons. One was recon. This is our state and our metro area. This incident will be heavily spun. So seeing it ourselves made sense. Also we weren't sure what the intentions of the police were,” Stephen, who worked as a private security guard for seven years, was quoted as saying by the Mail. He said they were determined to guard the police precinct where the officers were on duty at the expense of other buildings in the area. Stephen also said that the police might not be there to protect the peaceful protesters and prevent the looting and violence.
“...due to the looting and violence to property, if anyone harmed people there would be no help coming. That would also be likely twisted by the police, as the main thrust of the protest. Which would be really wasteful,” he said. One of the shop owners was so grateful to Stephen and his friends for the protection they gave that he gave them water and smoke. Local media footage showed the armed men guarding outside the GM Tobacco store in a strip mall off Lake Street, close to where a Target store was looted and set ablaze. Protests against Floyd's death were also witnessed in other parts of the country as prosecutors looking into the case asked people to hold patience assuring justice will be served, reported CNN.