After three consecutive nights of growing protests and looting, and hundreds of businesses destroyed and damaged by fire in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter III both announced Friday that there will be mandatory curfews in pace in both cities this weekend.
The curfew is for all public spaces and is set to begin Friday night at 8 p.m. and extend until 6 a.m. Saturday morning. The curfew will then take place again Saturday night into Sunday morning.
Protesters gather in front of the 3rd precinct police building while it burns in Minneapolis, Minnesota - Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Mayor Frey said in the Emergency Regulation, “All law enforcement, fire, and medical personnel, as well as other personnel authorized by the City of Minneapolis, City of St. Paul, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Minnesota State Patrol, or Minnesota National Guard, are exempt from the curfew.” Mayor Carter added that exceptions will be made for members of the media in St.Paul.
Violation of this order will result in a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment of up to 90 days.
Earlier this afternoon it was also announced that Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer responsible for the murder of George Floyd, was taken into custody and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
This news comes after President Donald Trump violently suggested in a tweet this morning that he was going to order the shooting of protestors in Minneapolis if they continued to demonstrate.