Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was shamed into leaving a rally, Saturday, after he said he is not willing to defund his city’s police department.
Calls to defund or abolish the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) have been made by protestors and government officials alike over the last few days. As the City Council and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar advocate this course of action, Frey has been relatively silent about the matter until today, when he told a crowd of thousands congregated around 4th and Hennepin that he will not defund MPD, earning him jeers and chants of “shame” from those assembled.
Frey walked into the crowd of protestors organized by the Black Visions Collective alone, Saturday afternoon, and approached the woman who was controlling the microphone. The Black Visions Collective is an organization that supports, among other things, the abolition of the police in Minneapolis.
“Jacob Frey we have a yes or no question for you,” the woman began. “Yes or no, will you commit to funding the Minneapolis Police Department? she asked the mayor. “We don’t want no more police… if y’all don’t know, he’s [Frey] up for re election next year and if he says know, guess what the fuck we gon’ do next year?” the lady added.
When the microphone was lowered to Frey’s face his reply dissatisfied the crowd. “I do not support a full abolition of the police,” he said.
“Alright, get the fuck out of here,” the lady who posed the question responded, as chants of “go home Jacob go home” could be heard.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey showed up today at the protests. He was asked if he would commit to abolishing/defunding the police. Incredible to witness crowd hold him directly accountable. Man did a literal walk of shame. pic.twitter.com/v645mfIZHt
— Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) June 6, 2020
As the chants continued and morphed into a repetition of one word, “shame,” the mayor walked slowly through a crowd of seated spectators down 4th Street as he left the rally.
Mayor Frey @Jacob_Frey says he doesnt want to defund the police. So the crowd led by @BlackVisionsMN tell him to leave. pic.twitter.com/DaJHJXPwRm
— CTUL (@CTUL_TC) June 6, 2020
The Minneapolis City Council took the first official step towards making large changes to the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) during an emergency meeting, Friday. Meanwhile, the Council President and several of its members, including Attorney General Kieth Ellison’s son, have spoken in outright support of abolishing the MPD and replacing them with an unarmed community service entity.
We can’t reform a system that is rotten, reimagining and reconstructing a new way forward is a better approach.
Thankful for Minneapolis city council for their leadership on this. https://t.co/Vm9cbRfgzn
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 5, 2020
We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department.
And when we’re done, we’re not simply gonna glue it back together.
We are going to dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response.
It’s really past due. https://t.co/7WIxUL6W79
— Jeremiah Ellison (@jeremiah4north) June 4, 2020
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar seems to agree that this is a good idea.
We can’t reform a system that is rotten, reimagining and reconstructing a new way forward is a better approach.
Thankful for Minneapolis city council for their leadership on this. https://t.co/Vm9cbRfgzn
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 5, 2020
Omar also spoke to a crowd gathered by the Black Visions Collective on Saturday.
BREAKING: Rep. Ilhan Omar @IlhanMN giving a speech that fires up the crowd after taking off her mask that says “Stop Killing Black People” (1/x) pic.twitter.com/egdUBMlJQW
— David Schuman (@david_schuman) June 6, 2020
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.
