The chair of the Minneapolis DFL recently praised the arson and riots that took place in the summer of 2020, even claiming that cops were the ones rioting while residents were just responding.
Minneapolis magazine Southside Pride published an opinion piece last week by Devin Hogan titled “The cops started it.” Hogan, chair of the Minneapolis DFL, claims the Third Precinct arson was “revolutionary.”
“Like it or not, setting the Third Precinct on fire was a genuine revolutionary moment. An act of pure righteousness to open new worlds of understanding,” he declares.
“The cops are rioting and the people are responding,” Hogan writes, explaining that this is what he told family members when they reached out during the riots.
Hogan believes the rioting, looting, and burning that occurred last summer were necessary, writing that, with these acts, “the people declared themselves ungovernable and unilaterally took their power back.”
As protesters gathered at the Third Precinct, cops began using non-lethal weapons on the crowds in an “unprovoked” and “random” manner, according to Hogan.
“Our Boys in Blue were showing off,” Hogan writes. More protesters came because they couldn’t believe the “raw provocation” from the police, he says.
“People threw garbage cans at squad cars … moved dumpsters into the street to protect themselves from the unpredictable violence, sometimes setting them alight.”
When the Target across the street would not let protesters in, Hogan says, it was looted.
Because of the police, who “killed George Floyd and took every opportunity to escalate, agitate and make things worse,” people responded in a way that showed “genuine liberation,” Hogan writes.
Now, it’s important to “keep your eyes on the prize” and not let the media “distract from the issues.” White supremacists are “organized,” Hogan says, and they don’t want to give up control.
In a statement posted to Facebook Monday, supposedly responding to backlash from media outlets, Hogan claimed that he did not issue a “call to arms” in his recent op-ed.
“The truth hurts … If antiracism offends your sensibilities, then please use this moment to examine the role you play in maintaining and upholding these systems. Which side are you on?” Hogan asked.
Rose Williams
Rose Williams is an assistant editor for Alpha News.
