The following is an excerpt from Alpha News reporter Liz Collin’s new bestselling book, “They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and the Death of George Floyd.”
In this excerpt, she discusses the statements made by political leaders in the aftermath of Floyd’s death, such as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, former Chief Medaria Arradondo, and Gov. Tim Walz. She also walks readers through some of the protests outside her home, where she lives with her husband, former Minneapolis police union president Bob Kroll.
Frey and Arradondo weren’t the only ones holding symbolic press conferences. Governor Walz held a press conference urging the importance of “creating space” for “peaceful protesters.” Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan let rioting and looting go on for days but seemed clueless about the damage the “peaceful” protesting had caused. They didn’t seem to understand that people needed strong leadership, not symbolic gestures. The way that Walz, Flanagan, Frey, and Arradondo were scapegoating cops was like putting a target on the back of every law enforcement officer in Minnesota. So, when they started blaming Bob for racism and the riots, they not only made him a target, they also made him Public Enemy No. 1.
Like all the violence and incivility that the media and the Left promoted during the riots, the attacks against Bob quickly escalated while common sense seemed to disappear. Just days later after Arradondo and Frey made their “defund the police” contract maneuver, BLM protesters held a demonstration at our house. On June 14, 2020, Black Lives Matter and Black Trans Lives Matter protesters held signs and wrote messages in sidewalk chalk in front of our house. “Bob Kroll is a racist” was a popular theme. If their scribbles were meant to be political statements, it seems Bob was now also responsible for “400 years of racial injustice,” and other confused ideas. Fortunately, it was little more than insults, sidewalk chalk, and a mural of George Floyd stuck on the side of a rented moving van. But more than anything else, it was now perfectly clear that Bob was to blame for everything.
Even though they completely violated our privacy, at least they showed some respect for our property. Although I didn’t know what to say to our neighbors. They did nothing to deserve the chanting, the obscene messages, and everything else that happened outside their homes. But they were absolutely amazing. As soon as the protesters drove off, our neighbors came out and cleaned up the mess. They washed away all the hurtful messages that “Bob Kroll must see!” We came home to find our driveway filled with hearts drawn with sidewalk chalk and messages of encouragement. It’s still hard to put into words how the kindness and support of our neighbors helped us. They gave us hope. And if our neighbors were standing up to the nonsense, then Bob and I had to do the same. Little did I know this was just the beginning because it didn’t take long for violence to show up at our house. Our political “leaders” should have realized that “defunding” the police, abandoning union members, and blaming police officers might lead to dire consequences. The statement Arradondo released on June 22nd seemed to only make things worse:
“I agree with Attorney General Ellison: what happened to Mr. Floyd was murder.”
Arradondo seemed to be reading a death sentence into the court of public opinion. His indictment wasn’t something a leader should say to calm a situation. When Derek Chauvin heard about Arradondo’s public indictment, he said, “That’s when I knew they were stacking the deck against me.”
