GOP report pans Minnesota DFL leaders for protest response

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A report released Tuesday by Minnesota Republican senators blames Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for their failure to control days of violent protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd.

The 61-page summary that was compiled after a series of summer hearings cites what Republicans believe was a slow response to an escalating situation and a hesitation to deploy additional law enforcement in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Star Tribune reported.

Floyd’s death sparked widespread protests against police brutality and racism around the world. More than 1,500 properties were damaged or destroyed in the Twin Cities over several days.

“One central theme emerged fairly quickly during our hours of testimony: the governor’s slow decision making caused the riots to be far, far worse than they should have been,” said GOP Sen. Scott Newman, who co-authored the report.

Senate Democrats described the report as a political document which they were given little time to review and said it overlooked the underlying causes of the disturbances.

A statement by Democratic state Sens. Ron Latz and Scott Dibble said Republicans “fail to face the issues of structural racism, racial injustice, and lack of police accountability reforms in the Senate.”