I have been following this story from time to time: Who burned our
neighborhoods? Who looted? Initially, what I found was lost suburban and
small-town Minnesota (mostly white) kids, as reported by Arson, Tobacco and
Firearms as well as the MN office of the U.S. Attorney. After a while, I
realized that they were just the ones that got caught first, since they did
obvious and stupid stuff like livestreaming their crimes on Facebook or other
media. So they got caught first. Now we are getting to the ones who were a bit
better organized. Yes, the Boogaloo Bois arrested for armed riot after the
George Floyd murder are this Ivan Harrison Hunter from a suburb of San Antonio,
Robert Michael Soloman from New Brighton MN and Benjamin Ryan Teeter from North
Carolina. So far, those are the "accelerationists" (right-wing gun enthusiasts
who want to hasten an inevitable new civil war) most likely for provoking the
arson and riots. I imagine that there will me dismissal from Trump and his
minion Bob Barr, who want to blame it all on "antifa" or whatnot.
However, I also wonder about the looting, which was arguably started by the
"Umbrella Man" dressed in black and a gas mask and carrying an umbrella, the
guy filmed while breaking windows of the Auto Zone near the 3rd Precinct
station. He was named three months ago in the search warrant and eventually
identified in various media reports as Mitchell Wesley Carlson of Champlain MN
and a member of the Hell's Angels as well as the Aryan Cowboy Brotherhood, a
prison gang primarily centered in Minnesota and Kentucky. To my understanding,
he has never been arrested or even charged. Yesterday I wrote to the author of
the Strib article which first mentioned that white provocateur convicted felon
as being the one initiating the looting; his response was that any indictment
is likely under seal, that is , still not available to the public.
So far, I would draw this temporary guess: After George Floyd was murdered, we
witnessed widespread arson, rioting and looting. The background for this was,
of course, a centuries-long history of oppressing Black people and the murder
by police of unarmed Black men. The fuse was then lit by officers from the 3rd
precinct using wildly inappropriate force against protesters who were almost
entirely peaceful. Violence continued to grow as Boogaloo Bois and similar
right-wing armed groups began arriving from outside Minnesota. Looting began
as other provocateurs initiated further property destruction and looting.
Along the way, the aforementioned "lost white kids" and others joined the
melee. A half-billion dollars of mostly locally-owned businesses were
destroyed. The Orange Guy in the White House continues to blame it on "antifa"
and "left-wing radical Democrats."
A further word of full-disclosure:
My conclusions at this point are completely provisional and the story is
probably more complicated that my broad brush-strokes. If you check the ATF
website, you will find a little bit of ethnic mix, with everything from the
juvenile son of a white woman from Andover to a couple of Liberian-American
immigrants from Rochester. But mostly it is white people, mostly youngish,
mostly residing outside of either Minneapolis or St. Paul. So far I have not
found a single leftist/antifa/Democrat among the provocateurs (although there
is one video journalist from Staples in Paul Gazelka's district, the only one
arrested so far who might possibly have a lefty political motive).
To me, this is very much a developing story. I would love to find out whatever
happened with the "Umbrella Man," but I have only small hope that it will be
soon. And, sadly, the cynical part of me knows that none of these facts will
make the slightest impression on the members of the Trump cult. They already
have their fear. They already have their villains in the "rapists and murders"
coming from the south or the "thugs" (dog-whistle for N-word) who they hate so
irrationally. Their authoritarian leader has told them not to trust the "fake"
media, or the "deep state," so facts will not matter to them. They will
continue to fear the "other" and trust the blustering strongman, even as
bankrupt farmers commit suicide in increasing numbers, the economy crashes,
their parents and grandparents die painful preventable COVID deaths. Sadly,
the facts will not matter. It is all so sad.
I thought I was done ranting, but I want to add one more thing. I am absolutely
NOT a fan of Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, but I need to express deep
appreciation for the decision he made to pull back the police from the 3rd
precinct. In my opinion, it was a decision that saved many lives. We lost the
police station. We lost many minority-owned stores, including my favorite
Indian restaurant. I personally lost my post office, my two favorite grocery
stores and even my neighborhood wine source was looted and damaged. But the
only two lives that were lost after George Floyd died were people being shot by
owners or managers of Lake Street pawn shops, not the wholesale carnage that
other cities have seen. (By the way, have the pawn shop owner or manager been
charged, and was that recent discovery of a burned body a 3rd death?)
So I understand why people are pissed with the mayor. Nobody likes to see their
city burned, the hardworking local owners put out of business. Frey may lose
the next election over this. But I believe his decision saved many lives and,
for that, I thank him. So if we need to assess blame, why not blame centuries
of systemic racism and police brutality? Why not blame those with all the
weapons for shooting them? Why not blame the demagogues like Trump who make
their fortunes by stoking our fears and blaming some convenient "other"?
Enough is enough.