Twin Cities mayors, Minnesota governor walk back comments about out-of-state protesters

St. Paul, Minn., Mayor Melvin Carter (D) on Saturday evening walked back his comments from earlier in the day claiming that “every single person” who was arrested Friday night from protests over the killing of George Floyd was from out of state.

Carter said in a joint press conference with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) that the information he had received regarding the arrests made in St. Paul on Friday night was inaccurate.

Walz said that officials should be able to get a better idea of which arrested protesters were from out of state after Saturday night. 

“Whether they’re from Minnesota or not, if you’re out there doing that at night, you’re not sharing these values. You’re not sharing who we are,” he said.

The governor also urged Minnesotans to follow the imposed curfew, which goes into effect at 8 p.m. local time.

“Don’t be the one to say that you destroyed that business that’s been there for 50 years,” he said.