A recently released video taken in George Floyd Square reveals an ax-wielding man’s attack on the autonomous zone.
At 2 a.m. on May 16, an armed man entered Minneapolis’ autonomous zone, which is located at East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. The zone has been barricaded against police entry and has become a center for criminal activity.
A George Floyd memorial account released video footage of the unidentified man’s actions. The man arrives at the scene in a black pickup truck and is then seen in the video taking down signs and fences surrounding the zone.
Upon entry, the man attacks a wooden shed with his ax and throws chairs around the site. Shortly after, the man is prompted to leave by another individual, who yells, “Get the f– out of here.”
The memorial account that posted the video wrote on Instagram, “When the bankruptcy of white supremacy drives you towards a community in protest of police brutality and anti-blackness at 2 a.m., when it drives you to throw a tantrum on a wooden shed, nothing shows the simple-mindedness of police mentality more than a fool who uses an ax because he can’t figure out how to open a damn door.”
While advocates of the autonomous zone were angered by the man’s actions, many more locals have experienced the ongoing frustration of living near or in the zone.
Activists claimed six blocks around East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis following Floyd’s death last May. This is a zone where white people are told to “watch their volume, pace and movements,” and criminal activity flourishes after dark.
A resident of the autonomous zone said in a March Facebook post that she and her fiancé will be dealing “with the emotional trauma of this for a very long time.”
Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired sergeant, told Fox News, “What the neighbors are saying in the residential area is that after darkness falls, criminals are using it to freely commit crimes, deal drugs, things like that, and they’re extremely frustrated.”
After gang-related murders and a sexual assault took place in the area, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said in a press conference that the zone needs to be shut down. However, law enforcement and the city of Minneapolis have failed to specify when order will be returned to the neighborhood.
Currently, activists overseeing the area have received support from the National Lawyers Guild of Minnesota and published a list of 24 demands to be met by the city before they will give up control, they say.
Katie Larsen
Katie Larsen is a cartoonist and writer for Alpha News.
