Reggie Edwards, the acting city manager of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, said Thursday that the protesters who took to the streets in the aftermath of Daunte Wright’s fatal police shooting could be divided into three groups.
According to him, the vast majority of those who attend are peaceful and want to express their grief over the fatal shooting. Another group consists of agitators who attempt to alter the narrative. But then he added that there are those who come prepared with a game plan and bring equipment that allows them to try to build barracks, for example.
Curt Boganey has been replaced by Edwards. His predecessor was fired after publicly disagreeing with Mayor Mike Elliot on whether the officer who fatally shot Wright should be fired. He stated that the officer was entitled to “due process.”
Edwards made his remarks during a Zoom meeting following a closed session with other city officials, and Fox News obtained a transcript. He did not immediately respond to an after-hours email requesting clarification.
He stated in the Zoom that there have been arrests, but that the protests have largely been peaceful. He estimated that between 90 and 95 percent of the protesters were peaceful.
Cops and protesters have clashed. Protesters threw water bottles at officers, who responded with chemical irritants and flash-bang grenades. Hundreds of people have been arrested in the first few nights.
Members of the violent far-left activist group Antifa identified themselves to a Fox News reported earlier this week at a rally in Brooklyn Center.
“We noticed an increase in the number of children ‘wearing the uniform,’ if you will, of black hoodies and backpacks. I saw leaf blowers and various kinds of… makeshift shields and things out there. It was changing dramatically in terms of makeup and, without a doubt, the number of people in the crowd “Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin stated.
On Thursday, demonstrators took to the streets for the fifth night in a row, holding a rally outside the city’s police precinct. According to Fox 9, the mayor of the city has declared a curfew of 10 p.m. According to the report, police installed a new line of fencing to better separate officers from protesters.
“While the group numbering in the hundreds set up outside the city’s police department on North Humboldt Avenue, police mostly stayed back from fencing, a more laid-back approach compared to confrontations earlier in the week.” the station said of the protest.