Thousands of protestors gathered outside the Minneapolis Police & Fire Union office building, Friday, to demand the resignation of the Police Union’s president, Bob Kroll.
The masses in the streets of Minnesota have demanded that Kroll abdicate his post since protests related to the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) first began late last month. Kroll’s opponents claim that he is a white supremacist, citing his connection to President Donald Trump and affiliation with an allegedly racist motorcycle club comprised of off-duty law enforcement officers as evidence of Kroll’s supposed bigotry.
Kroll’s critics also frequently refer to the fact that Minneapolis has paid out roughly $45 million in settlements for police misconduct lawsuits over the last 17 years, reports MPR. Kroll was elected 5 years ago. $20 million of the $45 million that the city paid out went to the family of Justine Ruszczyk who was murdered by officer Mohamed Noor in 2017.
City Pages advertised Friday’s protest called the “Bob KKKroll Must Go! Solidarity Rally for Justice” alongside “drag queen cookie decorating” in an article about “things to do this weekend.”
“March against our shitty Minneapolis Police Federation President, Bob Kroll. Kroll has had seven lawsuits filed against him, dozens of complaints for excessive force, is a big Trump supporter, the Pages wrote.
Apparently the rally was sufficiently well adversized, as its attendance swelled to the thousands, per reports from social media users on the ground.
Thousands take the streets at a rally in front of #Minneapolis Police union hq demanding Bob Kroll (union head) resign.#GeorgeFloyd #minneapolisuprising pic.twitter.com/fDeHv26ER4
— Jon Ziegler “Reb Z” (@Rebelutionary_Z) June 12, 2020
“We’re protesting outside the MPD Union Office, where the Nazi head of the Minneapolis Police Union Bob KKKRoll, works,” one protestor wrote alongside a video of the demonstration.
We’re protesting outside the MPD Union Office, where the head of the Minneapolis Police Union, Bob KKKroll, works. pic.twitter.com/gahHY0iAvN
— Joe Karlsson (@JoeKarlsson1) June 6, 2020
Demonstrators also held signs that read “white silence is violence” and “ACAB,” an abbreviation for the anarchist slogan “all cops are bastards.”
Kroll himself characterized the riots and instances of looting that have wracked his city as “a terrorist movement” in a leaked internal letter that was emailed to members of his union. “What has been very evident throughout this process is you have lacked support from the top,” he told his officers, suggesting that state leaders have been too mild in their response to the violence.
In that message he also accused the state of “diverting funds to community activists with an anti-police agenda.”
Kyle Hooten
Kyle Hooten is Managing Editor of Alpha News. His coverage of Minneapolis has been featured on television shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and in print media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.
