Five years ago, the city of Minneapolis blew up in “fiery but mostly peaceful riots” over the death of fentanyl riddled George Floyd. Today, the left holds tightly to that victimhood mythology despite all evidence to the contrary.

They ignore the fact that the riots burned down buildings, laid waste to a multitude of businesses, had a police precinct overrun, injured many, and left several dead – including David Dorn, a retired police chief in St. Louis. They ignore the fact that these riots caused BILLIONS in damage. Damage that has yet to be repaired. 

It was all about Black Lives Matter, supporting rioters by donating to bail bond funds (hello Kamala!), and virtue-signaling by taking a knee – even at the U.S. Capital. George Floyd was given four funerals, at taxpayer expense and his family got handed $27 million in a settlement from the city of Minneapolis. 

But today, the left is ignoring reality. They are ignoring the fact that George was higher than a kite on fentanyl that day. They are ignoring the fact that defunding the police and removing consequences for those who commit crimes has led to an INCREASE in crime. They are ignoring the fact that their rhetoric and gleeful support of the riots, 574 of which were incredibly violent, sent a signal to today’s protestors that they could protest at will and nothing will happen to them. 

Today, the left is still calling what happened, murder. 

As Minneapolis’s chief of police in 2020, I was in the eye of the storm — and at the helm — during a moral crisis that swept around the globe — the murder of George Floyd, whose life was extinguished under the knee of a police officer while three other officers failed to intervene.

The entire policing profession found itself on trial. Blue and Black collided — the two worlds I inhabited, as a police chief and as a Black man.

~Snip

The worst thing a leader can do is be silent when the situation is screaming for them to act. Throughout my career, I have often said, “integrity is not situational.” That belief helped guide me through one of the most painful times in our country’s history. It helped me speak truth to power and stand firm in the face of internal resistance, public anger and political pressure. I did not build my legacy with speeches; I built it with action.

Nice try, but no. Speaking “truth to power” doesn’t mean hanging your department out to dry. Nor does it preside over an agency that bows to the cries of defunding the police.

Here’s the problem. CNN, as usual, along with most of the rest of the media, is ignoring the aftermath in Minneapolis and elsewhere. Black Lives Matter was only about raking in the cash and doing absolutely NOTHING for those actually harmed by the riots. Edwin Reed, the owner of Sincere Detailing, is suing Minneapolis for letting activists and rioters take over. 

Reed said at his peak he was averaging more than $390,000 a year. In 2024, his business made $9,700.

“I’ve had to get rid of employees, I couldn’t afford them. A lot of my employees are 1099. They were making $1,000 a week out of 13 guys that I had on staff. We were seeing roughly 25 cars a week. That has not happened. We’re only getting maybe even three to four cars a month. So it’s been pretty horrible,” Reed said.

“I’m a very hardworking individual. I grew up in this area. I grew up in Minnesota. I’ve been here since 1984. And I’m a graduate at Washburn High School, class of ‘98. And I’ve saved all my money to start this business. And I have lost everything. My house is in foreclosure … it hasn’t been the same, you know, since George Floyd died. Honestly, when George Floyd died, my company died right along with George Floyd.”

The left will continue to ignore those pesky little items because they are so entrenched in their victimhood mythology of George Floyd. Quite honestly, Reed and the others should also considering suing Tim Walz. He waited FOUR days to call in the National Guard. Today he sent out this asinine tweet that completely ignores the fact that a huge section of Minneapolis was burning at that time. 

Yes, that knucklehead needs to be held accountable. As does his “I love the smell of burning tires in the morning” wife. 

The Minneapolis police department was totally demoralized. By 2022, nearly 300 officers had left their jobs because of the asinine political climate, and are still over 200 sworn short in 2025.

Five years on, Minneapolis, particularly the area where the riots took place has yet to recover. All that money hasn’t gone to those who truly needed it the most. Instead we were treated to the spectacle of four funerals, and 700 lb statues honoring a fentanyl addict. 

The left will always believe the 574 violent riots in the summer of 2020 were a “historic movement for justice.” 

It was a historic study in performative art while ignoring those who were and are still directly impacted by the riots that summer. It’s also a study in showing how the left loves themselves a victim who will fit their chosen narrative, and destruction is totally fine when it suits their purposes. 

The report found 2,385 looting incidents, 624 arson incidents, and 97 police vehicles burned. In Minneapolis and St. Paul combined, about 1,500 properties sustained severe damage, with nearly 80 completely destroyed. Reporting from Axios found that the destruction resulted in at least $1 billion to $2 billion of paid insurance claims.

Forget about THOSE victims. George Floyd is THE victim according to the left now and forever more. 

Feature Photo Credit: Businesses on fire in Minneapolis during George Floyd riots via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and modified