MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz is facing criticism from the Republican presidential ticket that he’s to blame for Minneapolis burning in 2020.

Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, claims Walz “actively encouraged” rioters.

It’s a change from June of that year, when then-President Trump said to Walz on a call, “I was very happy with the last couple of days, Tim.”

After George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on Monday, May 25, a video showing what happened was posted early the next morning and seen around the world.

Later that Tuesday morning, the governor tweeted, “We will get answers and seek justice.”

Protests turned tense that night, and the next day, Wednesday, Walz said, “I was saddened to see some of the protesters were in harm’s way last night and I just want to encourage everyone to be safe, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

About four hours after that press conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Walz asking for the National Guard, according to an October 2020 state senate report.

There was reportedly confusion about whether that call constituted a formal request.

The Guard can’t be activated without a formal request from the city or agency in distress.

A couple of hours later, in a tweet, Walz asked people to protest “peacefully and safely.”

At 9:11 that night, another request came from then-Police Chief Medaria Arradondo. In an email, he asked the state for 600 National Guard soldiers.

But an independent review commissioned by the city found that “the request did not follow established policies or protocols.”

The looting and fires continued that night and into the next day.

At 10:55 a.m. Thursday, Frey’s office sent Walz a formal request for the Guard.

By 4 p.m., the governor had them activated.

That night, about 45 minutes after Minneapolis police abandoned the 3rd Precinct, the Guard tweeted that more than 500 soldiers had been activated to the Twin Cities.

Still, that night was not peaceful.

This can perhaps be explained, at least in part, by something an independent, state-commissioned after-action report says: the Guard and Minnesota State Patrol were asked to “provide services outside of their…training” and “they did not have experience responding to a large-scale civil disturbance.”

At 9 a.m. Saturday, Walz announced he was fully mobilizing the entire Guard, which was an unprecedented move.

At a press conference that day, he said, “Last night is a mockery of pretending that this is about George Floyd’s death.”

In a new statement on Monday, Mayor Frey told WCCO, “I requested the National Guard immediately and Governor Walz, not Donald Trump, authorized one of the guard’s largest deployments in Minnesota history. During one of the city and state’s most difficult moments, we collectively tried our best to navigate unprecedented times and to do so quickly.”

Former Chief Arradondo told CBS it was bureaucracy and logistics that slowed the Guard’s deployment, not hesitation by Walz.

A then-senior official with the Minnesota National Guard spoke positively of Walz to CBS and said the governor couldn’t have deployed the Guard any earlier than he did.

In November of 2019, Abdi Warsame was the Minneapolis City Council Member representing the neighborhood where a fire in a high-rise public housing building resulted in six deaths.

“I remember you could feel the heaviness,” said Warsame. “You could feel the grief in the air as emergency vehicles’ lights illuminated our neighborhood. It was a heavy day, and my heart remains with those who also lost friends, family and neighbors. It’s what makes today such a bittersweet moment for me.”

Now, Warsame is the executive director of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA). He and other local leaders gathered Monday outside of the Dickman Park Apartments which is the last of 42 public housing complexes to receive fire suppression systems.

The Nov. 27, 2019, fire broke out on the 14th floor of Cedar High Apartments, in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. That building was constructed in the 1970s, before codes required fire sprinklers. It had sprinklers on the ground floor, but not on the residential floors.

Five people died in that fire. One person died later of smoke inhalation. Minnesota’s Fire Marshal said a sprinkler system could have prevented those deaths. 

At the time, only 16 of the city’s 42 high rises had fire suppression systems. Now, all 42 do.

“I had never imagined that a high rise would not have sprinklers,” said Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, who knew people who lived in the building. “To me, it felt like there was a great injustice done by decision makers who had previously could have had the opportunity to intervene.”

Omar and members of the Minnesota congressional delegation, along with the city of Minneapolis and the MPHA helped secure part of the $20 million to complete the sprinkler system installations.   

Public housing residents like Mary McGovern are relieved to see this get done.

“We don’t want this ever happening again,” said McGovern who is also president of the Minneapolis High Rise Representative Council. “It’s fantastic, it makes everybody feel so much better. It’s a work in progress, and it’s finally done.”