Minnesota Democrat Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan accused “white supremacists” on Saturday of instigating and participating in the widespread riots and looting in her state over the police killing of state resident George Floyd.
Flanagan indicated that gangs of white supremacists are taking advantage of the anarchy unfolding in the Twin Cities to sow more chaos.
“People should be able to come together … and mourn and grieve and demand change and justice in policing and every other racist system that we have that has been part of this state,” Flanagan, the first Native American lieutenant governor in Minnesota, declared.
“But in this moment, we cannot because there are detractors,” she continued. “There are white supremacists. There are anarchists. There are people who are burning down the institutions that are core to our identity and who we are.”
Flanagan did not name any particular white supremacist group or offer evidence of their presence there.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr blamed “far-left extremists groups” like Antifa for stoking the flames in cities across the nation.
“In many places, it appears the violence is planned, organized, and driven by anarchic left extremist groups — far-left extremist groups using Antifa-like tactics,” he said in a televised statement on Saturday.
Some Democrats, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, appeared to encourage the protesters before things got out of control.
“Don’t just dismiss that and ignore it and relegate it to just criminality and bad behavior,” Ellison said. “Actually ask yourself what’s going on there.”
He also described the riots as how “the unheard get heard.”
Several reporters at the left-wing outlet CNN are also promoting the claim that “white supremacists” are to blame for the riots.
Flanagan’s comments on Saturday came a day after the Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said he suspected white supremacists and drug cartels were fueling the havoc that has spread across the Twin Cities.
While the Minnesota Department of Public Safety alleged that reports of supposed white supremacist involvement “have been confirmed,” it conceded that the law enforcement agency itself has yet to corroborate the claims.
Asked if he was aware of rumors that white supremacists had participated in the riots and looting, the Democrat governor of Minnesota said based on “my suspicions and what I’ve seen on this, yes.”
“It gets worse than that,” he added. “The cartels, who are wondering if there was a break in their drug transmissions, are trying to take advantage of the chaos. That’s why this situation is on a federal level.”
Floyd died on Monday after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer in Minneapolis, kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest caught on camera. The detainee was unarmed.
Demonstrators, some peaceful, have taken to the streets in cities across America to protest since the incident.
In Minnesota, officials are urging people to stay home and abide by the 8 p.m curfew.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter told reporters Saturday that all of the arrested protesters in the region are from out of state.
Walz added that the “best estimate” is that 80 percent of the people rioting in the state are not from Minnesota.