WASHINGTON -- State and federal officials seem to agree that groups of “outsiders” are responsible for the most destructive protesting in U.S. cities.
But those officials have offered differing assessments of who those outsiders are.
They’ve blamed left-wing extremists, far-right white nationalists and even suggested involvement of drug cartels.
These leaders have offered little evidence to back up those claims, and the chaos of the protests makes verifying identities and motives exceedingly difficult.
Chief: Most arrested at Detroit protest are not from city
Nearly two-thirds of the 60 people arrested Friday night during protests in downtown Detroit over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis were from the city’s predominantly white suburbs.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Saturday that 37 of those taken into custody were from places like Warren, Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield and even Grand Blanc, which is about 60 miles northwest of Detroit.
Detroit was one of a number of U.S. cities where protests were staged, but didn’t see the levels of violence, damage or altercations with law enforcement that occurred elsewhere.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz blamed destruction Friday night in Minneapolis -- including setting a police station on fire -- on out-of-state instigators.
