Trump misstates National Guard deployment after Minneapolis rioting
The Minnesota National Guard responds to rioting in Minneapolis. (Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity Wednesday night, falsely characterized the Minnesota National Guard's role in quelling the rioting in Minneapolis this spring.
"Minneapolis is another example. Problem is, it was burning for two weeks before the National Guard came in," the president told Hannity. "Once the National Guard came in, it was over. It took, you saw it, 45 minutes to one hour. And it was all over. This was going on for weeks."
It did not take weeks for the National Guard to deploy to Minneapolis. Soldiers were on the ground within days of the start of rioting following the deadly arrest of George Floyd on the city's south side.
Floyd died on May 25. The next day, protesters broke into the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct's parking lot and smashed squad cars. Widespread looting and arson of businesses started on May 27 and rioters breached and then burned the Third Precinct on May 28.
That night, Gov. Tim Walz activated the National Guard. Guard officials said 500 soldiers deployed to Minneapolis overnight.
By May 29, 700 soldiers had been sent into Minneapolis and St. Paul, the National Guard has said.
Rioting continued that night, and Walz fully activated the Guard for the first time since World War II. Troop levels reached 4,100 on May 30 and 5,025 by early on May 31, the National Guard has said.
Soldiers assisted hundreds of Minnesota State Patrol troopers, who had also been called in to help Minneapolis Police with the unrest.
That historic deployment finally assisted in getting the disorder under control over the weekend of May 30-31.