The Minnesota National Guard now has more than 4,100 troops deployed in the Twin Cities and said it is working toward a total of 10,800 citizen-soldiers for the area.
“This is a significant increase over the 700 on-duty Friday. We live here. We work here. We serve here. We’re all in,” the National Guard said on Twitter Saturday.
We now have more than 4,100 — quickly moving toward 10,800 — Minnesota Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen supporting our friends and neighbors in the Twin Cities. This is a significant increase over the 700 on-duty Friday. We live here. We work here. We serve here. We’re all in. pic.twitter.com/WorKOI9ZCa
— Minnesota National Guard (@MNNationalGuard) May 31, 2020
Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order activating the National Guard Thursday afternoon and called up hundreds of troopers with the Minnesota State Patrol to respond to the situation.
“We are in a position of strength significantly greater tonight in Minneapolis and St. Paul than we were last night,” Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen said during a Saturday night press briefing.
State troopers and guardsmen showed forced early in the evening Saturday outside the Minneapolis Police Department’s Fifth Precinct, later preventing a crowd of roughly 1,000 rioters from crossing the Lake Street bridge from Minneapolis into St. Paul.
“We know there’s a long way to go tonight, we’re prepared for that,” Jensen added.
Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said the large law enforcement presence “is in place and will be here for the long haul to address and quell this situation.”
The full Saturday night press conference can be watched below:
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Minnesota National Guard” by Minnesota National Guard.
