Hundreds of peaceful protesters marched in Minneapolis on Wednesday night hours after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was released from jail. Chauvin is charged in the death of George Floyd.
A crowd of about 300 people gathered at the site of Floyd's death before part of the group broke off and marched towards the Minneapolis Police Department's fifth police precinct at 31st and Nicollet.
The Minnesota State Patrol arrested several people as midnight approached however it's unclear how many people were actually taken into custody and what they were charged with. Earlier in the day, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated 100 soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard along with 100 State Patrol officers and 75 Minnesota DNR officers.
Walz told Dave Lee on Thursday during the WCCO Morning News the call was made in order to maintain public safety.
"I think we were as caught off guard as anybody by an anonymous person posting bail for Chauvin," Walz said. "There wasn't a lot of coordination. Those are usually handled by Hennepin County and they didn't feel on that release they would turn it over to the Department of Corrections."
Walz said 54 arrests were made Wednesday evening.
"I will protect your right to First Amendment protest until the end of the days but once you cross that line and it endangers people and property we have to be prepared to stop it and that's what happened last night," said Walz.
Another protest is planned for Thursday night outside the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis.
