As Chauvin verdict looms, Guard tightens grip on Twin Cities April 18, 2021 8:52pm Text size Copy shortlink:
Reese Farrell was walking near her home in the Loring Park neighborhood of Minneapolis on Wednesday night when more than a dozen armored National Guard vehicles rumbled down the block. All this military presence it feels strange, like I m in a movie or something, the 17-year-old said.
As the end of the Derek Chauvin trial draws closer, state and local officials have ordered a show of force that some say has transformed the Twin Cities into an eerie, alarming, almost alternate-reality version of their hometowns.
By KATIE GALIOTO | Star Tribune | Published: April 19, 2021 (Tribune News Service) Reese Farrell was walking near her home in the Loring Park neighborhood of Minneapolis on Wednesday night when more than a dozen armored National Guard vehicles rumbled down the block. All this military presence it feels strange, like I m in a movie or something, the 17-year-old said. As the end of the Derek Chauvin trial draws closer, state and local officials have ordered a show of force that some say has transformed the Twin Cities into an eerie, alarming, almost alternate-reality version of their hometowns. Thousands of armed Guard members in fatigues are stationed on street corners in front of libraries, laundromats, pharmacies, restaurants, office buildings and grocery stores. Businesses have boarded up windows, public buildings are surrounded by razor wire and for several nights last week curfews forced Twin Cities residents indoors after dark.