There was at least one group of armed vigilantes that stood outside several Minneapolis stores Wednesday night during the looting in the city over the death of George Floyd in police custody.
Chett Hopper, the host of “The Real Resistance” on KWAM’s The Mighty 990, said it is times of unrest that the ability to defend your home or business is most urgent and the need to protect Second Amendment rights is all the more clear.
Hopper told the “Todd Starnes Radio Show” that the “armed hillbillies” in Minneapolis reminded him of the Los Angeles riots in 1992 when business owners in Koreatown got armed and got together to defend their stores.
“Not a single shot was fired, and they did not get looted and they did not lose any property or have any damage to their property, just from practicing their Second Amendment rights,” he said. “Because the police could not get down there.”
Violence broke out Wednesday night during the protests over Floyd’s death. The city’s fire department said it responded to at least 30 fires and there was a deadly shooting that police said involved a pawn shop owner and alleged looter.
Armed vigilantes said in an interview that they were assisting businesses in the area because city police and state troopers were overextended and the stores were sitting ducks.
One armed man said he was protecting a local tobacconist. The owner of the store was standing outside with a machete.
“These guys are out here with machetes, with shattered windows trying to keep looters out because cops can’t get in here,” he said. “So I figured before there were cops, there were Americans. So here we are.”
The armed men said they agree with the protests, but not the looting.
Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday activated the Minnesota National Guard to assist with local and state police in the city.
“George Floyd’s death should lead to justice and systemic change, not more death and destruction. As George Floyd’s family has said, ‘Floyd would not want people to get hurt. He lived his life protecting people.’ Let’s come together to rebuild, remember, and seek justice for George Floyd,” he said in a statement, according to the Star Tribune.