I’m listening to the Minneapolis news conference now during Q&A. Governor Walz has just asked local authorities to count the number of people from out of state who have arrived to disrupt and discredit the legitimate demonstrations of grief, anger, and solidarity. They intend to identify the groups *and* the individuals who have been involved in this destruction and their organizations. Additionally, the governor, mayors, and the General of the National Guard have asked the media for help to disseminate this information far and wide.
They acknowledge the observable change in tactics by these illegitimate “protestors” after Tuesday night. They acknowledge the dwarfing of a record number of National Guard troops by the illegitimate “protestors” to escalate violence, and to make it impossible to control the situation. They realize that the illegitimate “protestors” are changing tactics along with the police, firemen, and National Guard. As a result, the National Guard will have to be augmented by additional resources from other states and (this makes me nervous) from the Secretary of Defense and the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Please correct me if I’m wrong about this last item; it sounds like an unconstitutional measure regarding the Armed Services used for domestic control.
(5/29/20 11:46 a.m.: Thank you to Tailfish for this comment that does a great job of explaining how the Armed Forces can be lawfully used domestically)
I’ll edit and add to this as people comment and I hear more in the news, if possible.
(5/29/20 3:25 p.m.: I've removed the brutal, violent picture I had originally as the banner to the diary. I was so angry that I didn’t think about the potential impact, and I apologize to anyone who that photo caused pain.)