Governor Tim Walz today signed Executive Order 20-68 extending the temporary nighttime curfew for one night to provide safety for Minnesota residents from individuals who have engaged in unlawful and dangerous activity in recent days and threatened the security of lawful demonstrators and first responders.
“The curfew on Friday and Saturday night allowed our law enforcement to target those who meant to do harm to our communities,” said Governor Walz. “Law enforcement made several arrests and seized weapons, narcotics, long guns, handguns, magazines and knives. We have reason to believe that bad actors continue to infiltrate the rightful protests of George Floyd’s murder, which is why we are extending the curfew by one day.”
The temporary curfew is extended from 8 pm tonight (Sunday) to 6 am tomorrow (Monday) night. During the curfew, no one is allowed to travel on Minneapolis and Saint Paul streets or public places, except for first responders, members of the media, people going back and forth to work, individuals seeking emergency care or fleeing danger, and people experiencing homelessness. Curfews are not limited to Minneapolis and St. Paul. Mayors and local governments across the state can issue their own curfews.
All Minnesotans in Minneapolis and Saint Paul are urged to voluntarily comply, and to comply with instructions from law enforcement. Peace officers will enforce the curfew and arrest those who refuse to comply.
The state has activated a Multi-Agency Command Center (MACC). The MACC will serve as a unified command of several different law enforcement and public safety agencies to support the state’s response.
The MACC reported the following actions:
· The arrests of more than 155 people (numbers may increase as jails continue the booking process). Examples of the charges those individuals face include curfew violations, weapons possession, narcotics possession and rioting.
· The State Patrol confiscated seven firearms. The Minneapolis Police Department confiscated five firearms.
· The St. Paul Police Department stopped several vehicles without license plates. Within those vehicles were tools that could be used for destructive purposes.
· The Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) Security Operations Center is defending against distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) cyber-attacks aimed at overloading state information systems and networks to take them offline.
MNIT issued the following statement regarding these cyber-attacks:
“Keeping our communications systems secure during times of crisis is critical to protecting the Minnesotans that we serve, and we work to meet the challenging and evolving threat to those systems every day. At this time, these attacks have not successfully disrupted the state services that Minnesotans depend upon, and MNIT is working in close coordination with partners at the Department of Public Safety and with the federal government to share intelligence and stay proactive on cyber threats.”
· Support teams from the State Fire Marshal and the DNR conducted an aerial fire suppression mission.
· The State Patrol arrested one person who showed signs of overdose and was revived when troopers administered Narcan.
“Make no mistake about it, the State Patrol didn’t do this alone. We relied heavily on the relationships we have developed over the history of our organization,” said Minnesota State Patrol Colonel Matt Langer. “We are never perfect and there are always lessons learned. But our goal was accomplished.”
Moving forward, the MACC will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days. Actions will include enforcing the extended temporary curfew, as well as assessing threats and changing response efforts, if needed.
About the Multi-Agency Command Center
The state has activated a Multi-Agency Command Center (MACC). The MACC serves as a unified command of federal, state and local law enforcement and public safety agencies supporting the state’s response to any unrest that develops following the death of George Floyd. Agencies represented in the MACC include the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (State Patrol, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, State Fire Marshal division, Minnesota State Patrol); National Guard; Minneapolis Police Department; Saint Paul Police Department; Metro Transit Police; Bloomington Police; University of Minnesota Police; Sheriff departments from Ramsey County, Hennepin County, Anoka County, Dakota County, Washington County; and the FBI.
