How Tim Walz was accused of letting Minnesota 'burn' during the George Floyd riots and was governor during a $250 million COVID fraud
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz faces new scrutiny on how he handled the George Floyd riots, as Vice President Kamala Harris has selected him as her running mate for the 2024 election.
Protests of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020 soon escalated into violence, as rioters burned and looted businesses in the Twin Cities.
Walz resisted sending in the National Guard to address the escalating violence in the city for three days but ultimately chose to do so after receiving heavy criticism from residents for allowing the city to burn after rioters overwhelmed the state and local police force.
At the time, Walz argued that calling up the National Guard to enforce order would only incite further rioting, and suggested that protesters needed the space to express their outrage.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (L) greets Vice President Kamala Harris as she arrives at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
'I want to just be clear there's philosophically an argument to be made that an armed presence on the ground in the midst of where we just had a police killing is seen as a catalyst,' he said during a press conference.
After the third night of rioting, where a police precinct was set on fire, Walz admitted they had failed to properly respond to the violence.
'That is an abject failure that cannot happen,' he said, recalling a phone call he received from a local lawmaker about the lack of firefighters and police while frightened residents were locked in their homes.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis immediately condemned Harris' pick of Walz as a sign of the 'most left-wing ticket' in history.
“Minnesota was ground zero for the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020. Harris egged it on and Walz sat by and let Minneapolis burn,” DeSantis posted on social media.
A protester reacts standing in front of a burning building set on fire during a demonstration in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 29, 2020
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks to the press about George Floyd's death
Other Minnesota Republicans agreed.
'He displayed a remarkable lack of leadership in dealing with the riot that was very destructive and the aftermath of which is still affecting the quality of life and the business climate in Minneapolis,' Minnesota Republican Party Chair David Hann told Fox News on Wednesday.
Walz tried to dismiss the violence as the product of drug cartels, white supremacists, and outside groups, claiming that up to 80 percent of rioters were from out of state.
Arrest records, however, revealed that most of the rooters who were arrested were, in fact, from Minnesota.
Minnesota Republicans also singled out Walz for mishandling coronavirus funds that sent $250 million to a nonprofit group Feeding Our Future, ignoring warning signs that the organization was mishandling the funds.
The organization was using the funds for luxury cars, jewelry, travel and property, according to reports, while only using a small portion of the money from the federal government for feeding children.
At the time, Republicans blamed Walz for failing basic oversight and continuing to allow the non-profit to receive funds.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz arrives to speak at a press conference
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a Biden-Harris campaign event criticizing former President Donald Trump
The Minnesota Department of Education flagged serious concerns about the group in 2018, but failed to address them, and gave even more funding to the organization.
That earned him even more criticism from Republicans.
'If nothing changes, if nothing changes. Either Gov. Walz holds his appointed commissioners and other staff accountable and we stop the waste and fraud or this is going to continue,' said Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson during a news conference reacting to the scandal.
