Former President Donald Trump said during a recent Minnesota rally that it was he — not Gov. Tim Walz — who ordered the National Guard to respond to Minneapolis riots in 2020.
"Every voter in Minnesota needs to know that when the violent mobs of anarchists and looters and Marxists came to burn down Minneapolis four years ago, remember me?" Trump said at his July 27 St. Cloud rally. "I couldn't get your governor to act. He's supposed to call in the National Guard or the Army and he didn't do it. I couldn't get your governor. So, I sent in the National Guard to save Minneapolis."
CNN and WCCO-TV News, a CBS affiliate in Minnesota, debunked a similar Trump statement in 2020. We found that Walz called in the National Guard hours before Trump contacted him, but Walz has faced criticism about his response’s timing.
Walz sent in the National GuardGeorge Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020. Protests — some peaceful and some violent — erupted soon after video of his death went viral.
The Harris-Walz campaign did not respond on the record to our request for information. Walz’s governor’s office also did not respond to PolitiFact’s email asking about Trump’s claim. However, Walz spokesperson Teddy Tschann wrote in a statement to CNN in 2020 that Walz "activated the Minnesota National Guard at the request of the Mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, before he talked to the White House."
Tschann told CNN that Walz was in touch with Trump administration officials during the unrest, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley. But Walz was the one who put forward the plans for the use of the guard, he said.
At 4:04 p.m. CST May 28 in Minnesota, Walz issued an executive order activating the Minnesota National Guard to allow for personnel and equipment to support emergency operations.
Walz wrote that "feelings of anguish, anger, and disillusionment are justified," however, people engaged in "unlawful and dangerous activity" including arson, rioting and looting were threatening public safety.
Following Walz’s order, Minnesota National Guard Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen said in a social media post at 4:13 p.m, "We are ready and prepared to answer the Governor's request. We are currently in process of assigning and preparing units to respond."
At 10 p.m., Minneapolis police abandoned the department’s 3rd Precinct which was overtaken and burned.
At 10:30 p.m., May 28, Trump watched the scene on television and called Walz, offering to send in the military, WCCO-TV wrote.
"We have activated more than 500 soldiers to St. Paul, Minneapolis and surrounding communities," The Minnesota National Guard wrote at 10:41 p.m. May 28 in a social post. "Our mission is to protect life, preserve property and the right to peacefully demonstrate. A key objective is to ensure fire departments are able to respond to calls."
Protesters demonstrate May 28, 2020, outside of a burning Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct in Minneapolis. (AP)
