Nearly 80 rioters were arrested in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on Tuesday during the third consecutive night of violent demonstrations following the shooting of Daunte Wright by police officer Kim Potter.
The Minnesota state government released the arrest numbers in a tweet on Wednesday, and noted that most arrests were conducted by the Minnesota State Patrol and included riot and unlawful assembly charges.
The Star Tribune reported that the demonstrations Tuesday included between 800 and 1,000 protesters.
Concrete barriers and chain-link fencing were erected outside the home of 48-year-old Potter, the former police officer who shot Wright during a traffic stop Sunday after apparently confusing her gun with a Taser. Potter resigned Tuesday.
Rioters have been throwing a range of objects at law enforcement during the demonstrations.
“Unfortunately again some citizens decided to come out and throw bricks and other items at law enforcement,” said Booker Hodges, assistant commissioner for the state’s Department of Public Safety. “This type of activity will not be tolerated.”
Footage of the chaos in Minnesota was shared on social media, including one video in which a protester can be heard yelling, “Get the white people to the front!”
“[BLM] protesters demand that whites be used as human shields as they gather outside the Brooklyn Center police station,” independent journalist Andy Ngo tweeted with footage of the scene. “They’ve been trying to break down the fence & are throwing projectile.”
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott blamed “outside elements” for infiltrating “peaceful protesters” and causing “mayhem,” saying, “Daunte Wright’s death will not be exploited.”
“Insane scenes coming out of Brooklyn Center MN,” Jack Posobiec tweeted.
National Guard members were also present during the violent demonstration, with some stationed on the roof of the police station while others fired riot gas, projectiles and flash-bangs, the Tribune reported.
The paper noted that one local resident shouted that at officers that tear gas was getting into her home with children inside.
“A massive caravan of hundreds of National Guard and unmarked police vehicles just rolled through,” said one Twitter user who shared video of the scene.
Another Twitter user shared footage of thousands of demonstrators apparently refusing to disperse as an unlawful assembly is declared.
“Just arrived on the scene at the police station in Brooklyn Center and an unlawful assembly has already been declared,” the user tweeted.
Footage of a smashed local store was shared on social media, including graffiti that said, “F–k ACAB” — a popular acronym among anti-police activists meaning “All Cops Are Bastards.”
“[BLM] rioters looted and destroyed a Dollar Tree store in Brooklyn Center, Minn,” Ngo tweeted.
