MINNEAPOLIS _ A state-imposed curfew took effect at 8 p.m. Saturday and brought with it swift enforcement that in the first hours has so far halted successive nights of violent and destructive unrest that scarred Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul following George Floyd's death after being detained by police.
Security forces moved aggressively as the situation went from peaceful to tense to confrontational in multiple parts of Minneapolis. At the same time, reports have yet to surface of any significant damage, fires or other mayhem in recent days.
The first apparent blaze of the night was reported by police, where flames were spotted atop a shopping mall in the 3000 block of Nicollet Avenue. Police said a fire "strike team" was quickly dispatched in response.
The biggest difference from previous night's to this one is the far larger presence of the Minnesota National Guard. The Guard said its force has grown from 700 deployed on Friday to more than 4,100 on patrol or waiting their turn, with that number positioned to grow past 1,000.
The push against the crowds has diminished gatherings but also created a game of cat and mouse in some locales. St. Paul police said about 9:20 p.m. that its officers are heading to the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River, where protesters from Minneapolis are hoping to cross.
A half-hour later, St. Paul police moved on protesters on the bridge and made arrests. Others on the bridge retreated amid tear gas.
In what is so far the most potentially dangerous action against law enforcement yet Saturday night, Minneapolis police said protesters on the Interstate 35W overpass above 31st Street, where objects were being thrown down onto law enforcement.
The National Guard moved against all demonstrators in the area north of Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue, throwing tear gas bombs and effectively dispersing much of the crowd. The intention was clearly to get everyone to leave and comply with a curfew that lasts until 6 a.m.
National Guard troops continued to advance en masse against the scattering crowd as smoke and tear gas obscured views and were carried down the street by the wind. A few protesters reemerged after scattering, and were again greeted with barrages of tear gas.
In the space of 20 minutes, the huge crowd that had been outside the Fifth Precinct near Lake and Nicollet was down to just a few people, who drew waves of officers releasing tear gas. Many people had scattered down side streets into the neighborhoods.
In front of the Lake Street Kmart, protesters began erecting a barrier about 9 p.m. with signs in the middle of the road as police in riot gear made their way toward them. Tear gas left a haze in the air as law enforcement began firing projectiles, striking a reporter in the thigh.
Near the Kmart, law enforcement pushed agitated protesters under a highway overpass, where they're creating makeshift barricades and chanting "Hands up, don't shoot!" A line of officers in riot gear a half-block away began firing projectiles.
Police along Lake and behind bullhorns declared the protest unlawful and warned of arrests, sending people into retreat.
Dozens of journalists were scattered about Minneapolis to document the night's events. WCCO-TV said one of its photographers was arrested by the State Patrol. KSMP-TV reporter Christina Palladino and a photographer were in their minivan on the edge of downtown when a projectile struck the windshield and shattered it. They left the area. Also, Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Chris Serres was struck in the thigh with a projectile.
In an east metro suburb, West St. Paul police responded to several reports of shots fired. Police said officer are stopping several vehicles, most with no license plates. There are no reports of injuries or confirmation that these reports are related to the week's unrest in St. Paul or Minneapolis.
In an apparent second prong to stifle any trouble Saturday night, State Patrol troopers have made "several" weapons arrests at 28th Street and S. Grand Avenue in south Minneapolis, the state Department of Public Safety said in a statement. An AR-15 style firearm was confiscated, the department said.
To the east, where dozens of stores and the Third Precinct police station were severely damaged earlier in the week, the clock struck 8 and phones buzzed with the emergency notice. "C'mon," yelled a woman to her young daughter as she climbed into the car. "It's curfew."
State transportation officials late Saturday afternoon used large maintenance trucks to close interstates at 7 p.m., ahead when state officials want people to be home.
Gov. Tim Walz spoke in a widely televised news conference to implore everyone to stay home and restore order to the state's two major urban centers.
"Minnesotans, you must stay at home tonight," Walz said about the curfew, which will remain in effect until 6 a.m. Sunday. "Don't go out, don't go walking, don't drive. ... Support our first responders tonight by giving them the space to protect us."
Many of the people out in the afternoon not only carried signs and chanted slogans championing justice for Floyd, who was 46 when he died Monday, but took up brooms and other tools as cleanup crews swept up debris from businesses burned and looted by the dozens along Lake Street, Nicollet Avenue, Minnehaha Avenue and other major thoroughfares.
Block after block along Lake Street _ even miles from the hardest-hit parts of Minneapolis _ were storefronts protected by hastily nailed-up plywood as protection against vandals while offering a large surface for expressions of grief or anger over Floyd's death.
At E. 38th Street and S. Chicago Avenue, where Floyd was pinned under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer who now stands charged in his death, music blared over loudspeakers as food smoked on grills and flowers ringed messages of hope and determination chalked on the pavement: "Together we rise" and "We already miss you George and we won't forget" next to a giant 1960s-era peace sign. Visitors snapped photos or sat in silence at the memorial's edge.
Along one wall of the Cup Foods store is a mural with "George" and "Floyd" in giant yellow letters spreading like wings from his visage.
Walz said at his pre-curfew news conference that he was at the afternoon gatherings, and he noticed "a sense of solidarity, a sense of trying to channel grief and rage and anger into something positive.
"Large numbers of people brought things with them. They didn't bring explosive devices. They brought brooms, they brought shovels, they brought wheel barrows to clean up for people they didn't know, but knew they were their neighbors."
While the sense of community seemed to dominate where disorder and confrontation had ruled the past few nights, state officials and law enforcement are hopeful that a curfew to start at 8 p.m. in Minneapolis and St. Paul will leave exposed the people in the streets who were bent on destruction.
