Minneapolis: Rioting, arson condoned, encouraged by new breed of Marxist politicians.
By John Friend
A well-organized network of radical leftwing extremist groups and prominent political leaders at the local, state, and national level are dominating politics in Minneapolis. This phenomenon has entirely transformed the once thriving and successful Midwest metropolis into a crime-infested cesspool of corruption, mayhem, and disorder.
Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists, Antifa groups, and the Sunrise Movement, a far-left activist organization focused on so-called “climate change” and dismantling “white supremacy,” issues that the group views as intimately connected, have long been active in the city, recruiting young students and networking with fellow radical activists in their struggle to end “systemic racism” and “white privilege,” two weaponized talking points of the far-left.
The Sunrise Movement openly advocates confronting law enforcement and political leaders in order to advance their far-left agenda, with many of its dedicated members and activists willing to engage in criminal actions to prove their point. Serving as the foot soldiers in the promotion of the Green New Deal, the group has endorsed radical candidates such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley—leading champions of Green New Deal legislation—as well as other progressive Democrats who are gaining more power within the Democratic Party.
During conference calls featuring leaders and activists with the Sunrise Movement, speakers described “trigger events” that could be used to spark massive protests and demonstrations to mobilize others and further their far-left agenda. Certain members even characterized burning buildings and destroying private property as a legitimate form of protest, which has clearly been on display, not only in Minneapolis but in virtually every other major city across the country.
Major sections of Minneapolis have been vandalized and destroyed by lawless mobs of leftwing criminals and terrorists following the highly publicized death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man with a lengthy criminal history involving drug use and armed robbery, in late May.
Prior to Floyd’s death, a Trump rally held at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis in October 2019 drew crowds of radical leftist counter-protesters, many of whom engaged in violence against Trump supporters who attended the rally. Rep. Ilhan Omar, the far-left, Somali-born Democratic congresswoman representing Minnesota’s 5th congressional district, which encompasses parts of Minneapolis, and Tim Mynett, her alleged boyfriend and political strategist, were purported to have been in attendance at the anti-Trump counter-protest that, in typical fashion, devolved into anarchy and violence.
Outside the Target Center, anti-Trump protesters burned the iconic red Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat that became a trademark for the president, repeatedly berated Trump supporters as “Nazis,” and physically confronted countless individuals attempting to attend the rally. Bottles of urine and other projectiles were allegedly thrown at police attempting to maintain law and order, while Trump supporters and rallygoers had to flee to their vehicles to escape the mob.
Rep. Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi, is also a radical far-left activist. In the past, she has focused her activism on fighting “climate change,” but has shifted focus to the broader struggle against “white supremacy” and “systemic racism” by supporting Antifa and BLM groups rioting in and destroying Minneapolis following the death of Floyd.
The scandal-plagued Rep. Omar, also backed by the Sunrise Movement, is just one example of the radical left-wing agitators maintaining political power and influence in Minneapolis. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Virginia-born civil rights lawyer who first was elected to the city council before winning the mayoral election in 2018, has garnered national attention in the wake of Floyd’s death in police custody. In the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s death, Frey was demanding the police officers involved be arrested and charged with murder.
“Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?” Frey exclaimed to the media a mere two days following his death, prior to any sort of professional investigation being concluded.
“We cannot turn a blind eye. It is on us as leaders to see this for what it is and call it what it is,” Frey continued. “George Floyd deserves justice, his family deserves justice, the black community deserves justice, and our city deserves justice.”
Frey has gone on to become an icon of the far left, denouncing “institutionalized racism” and calling for major police and other social reforms, a theme of his mayoral candidacy.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, another progressive Democrat and the former 5th congressional district representative who proceeded Ilhan Omar, is yet another example of the far-left political figures dominating politics in Minnesota. Ellison gained notoriety as the first Muslim member of Congress, as well as for his championing of progressive politics. Following his stint in the House of Representatives, Ellison unsuccessfully ran for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, the main leadership organization for the national Democratic Party, before becoming the attorney general for Minnesota in 2018.
A darling of the far-left, Ellison has been backed by Soros-funded organizations for years, including his campaign to become attorney general. He has faced numerous fraud accusations, including campaign contribution violations and financial disbursements being misclassified, and has been accused by a former girlfriend of physical and emotional abuse. Ellison has long been accused of supporting Antifa and other far-left agitators, and his son Jeremiah Ellison, who sits on the Minneapolis City Council, has publicly avowed his support for Antifa.
Ellison is currently leading the prosecution of the four officers involved in the confrontation with Floyd, which ultimately led to his death. Left out of the national conversation is not only the fact that Floyd was a lifelong criminal and drug user, but was also highly intoxicated by a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl and methamphetamine and had underlying cardiovascular and other health problems when he was confronted by Minneapolis police for attempting to pass a counterfeit $20 at a local grocery store.
“Holding these four individuals accountable is a necessary part of establishing equality before the law for all people,” Ellison recently stated in an interview with the Financial Times. “We need a lot more than a conviction in this case, but we do need to hold these individuals accountable. It’s a necessary but insufficient condition to try to establish justice.”
Recently leaked body camera footage captured by two of the officers involved in the confrontation with Floyd—footage Ellison sought to keep hidden for months—demonstrates that Floyd was highly erratic as a result of the drugs he had consumed, did not comply with officers’ basic requests, repeatedly claimed he could not breathe even while standing up, refused to get in the police car claiming he was “claustrophobic,” and asked to be placed on the ground while in custody.
As the official Hennepin County medical examiner noted in their autopsy of Floyd, they failed to discover any “physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.” Rather, they discovered Floyd suffered from coronary artery disease, hypertensive heart disease, and high blood pressure, and was also heavily intoxicated, which the officers suspected but Floyd denied. Many of the symptoms Floyd displayed mimicked a fentanyl overdose.
Under the leadership of the radical leftists dominating the Minneapolis political scene, the city has seen violence and destruction on a massive scale, increasing crime rates, and an undermining of the rule of law. Local leaders have vowed to “reimagine” policing in the city, and are working toward replacing traditional law enforcement officers with a “department of community safety and violence prevention, which will have responsibility for public safety services prioritizing a holistic, public health-oriented approach.”
As a result of these policies and the lawlessness that has followed, 100 robberies and 20 car-jackings were reported to Minneapolis police in the third precinct alone in the month of July, prompting local leaders to issue “Robbery Prevention Tips” to local residents. Some of the tips actually encourage residents to obey and cooperate with the criminals.
“Be prepared to give up your cell phone and purse/wallet,” reads one tip. “Do as they say,” reads another. “Your safety is most important!”
Expect more of these sorts of policies across the nation as the radical left makes further headway into local and state politics. AFP will also continue its investigation into who is funding the Sunrise Movement and helping candidates like Omar, Pressley, Tlaib, Cortez, and others. Sunrise Movement literature alleges the organization supported 32 major candidates in the 2018 elections and that 19 of them won. Sunrise organizers want an army of young leftists (the vast majority white) and activist politicians (the vast majority minority) who believe, as they say on their website, that the “fight against climate change exists alongside the fight against white supremacy and colonialism.”
John Friend is a freelance writer based in California.
