Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Saturday that officials think "white supremacists" and "out-of-state instigators" could be behind the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death, but a report showed that "about 86 percent" of arrests so far are mostly of in-state residents.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also said Saturday that the majority of the protestors arrested were from outside Minneapolis and sought to take advantage of the chaos.
However, a report by KARE 11 showed "about 86 percent" of the 36 arrests listed their address in Minnesota, and that they live in Minneapolis or the metro area, according to data the outlet analyzed from the Hennepin County Jail's roster. Five out-of-state cases came from Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri, according to KARE 11.
"We are now confronting white supremacists, members of organized crime, out of state instigators, and possibly even foreign actors to destroy and destabilize our city and our region," Frey had tweeted Saturday.
“I think our best estimate of what we heard are about 20 percent are Minnesotans, and 80 percent are outside,” Walz also said Saturday during a news conference, KARE 11 reported.