Sandy MaloneMinneapolis, MN – Just days after he threatened to block Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s plan to allow churches to reopen at 25 percent capacity, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was handing out masks to protesters who are rioting, burning, and looting his city.
“I support our governor, I think he’s doing a tremendous job and he’s looking out for the entire state of Minnesota, whereas I’m looking out for the unique characteristics associated with the city of Minneapolis,” Frey told CNN on Monday. “Moving up to 25 percent capacity and up to 250 people in places of worship is a recipe in Minneapolis for a public health disaster.”
“That is not the route that we can or should be going on right now. We are considering some form of an emergency regulation ourselves to prevent that number of people gathering in one place,” he added.
The mayor made it mandatory for residents to wear masks in pubic indoor spaces, FOX News reported.
Later the same day, Frey’s focus drastically changed after 46-year-old George Floyd died while he was being arrested by Minneapolis police officers.
Protests erupted into riots as violent mobs looted and torched hundreds of buildings throughout the Twin Cities over the course of the past several days.
The chief of police said Wednesday that it wasn’t safe for his officers to try to stop the rioters who had begun looting and burning area businesses.
And then Thursday night, police were forced to abandon the 3rd Precinct just before rioting protesters burned the entire police station house to the ground.
Both police and firefighters were reportedly told to stand down for their safety as mayhem reigned in the city overnight.
The mayor made a plea for peace to those rioting on May 28, FOX News reported.
But instead of telling the violent protesters to stop burning down his city, Frey promised to help them stay healthy by giving them free face masks to protect them from the inevitable spread of the coronavirus due to the rioters ignoring social distancing guidelines while they continued to demonstrate.
“The City encourages everyone to exercise caution to stay safe while participating in demonstrations, including wearing masks and physical distancing as much as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” a press release from the mayor’s office read, according to FOX News. “The City has made hundreds of masks available to protesters this week.”