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Video shows police enforcing curfew during 2020 Floyd protests

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The claim: Tim Walz ordered police to shoot residents with paintball guns for violating the COVID-19 curfew

An Instagram video from August 13 (direct link, archive link) shows a news broadcast of a group of people in black uniforms walking down the middle of the street. Several men in the group yell at the person filming to “get inside right now” before what sounds like gunshots go off.

The news reports: “The Twin Cities are now under a 6 a.m. curfew.”

The post's caption reads: “Absolute insanity: Governor Tim Walz actually ordered his police to use paintball guns to shoot Minnesota residents who violated the COVID curfew by sitting on their porches. Check this out, people thought they were actually being shot – 'Light them up.'”

The post received more than 2,000 likes within a week. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

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Our rating: False

The video has nothing to do with COVID-19. It shows officers enforcing a curfew imposed by Walz during the 2020 George Floyd protests. There is no evidence that the officers were following the governor's orders to fire paint cartridges at residents. Both the National Guard and Minneapolis police said the men had no connection to them.

Video shows enforcement of curfew during George Floyd protests

Minnesota resident Tanya Kerssen filmed the now-deleted original video on May 30, 2020, according to a USA TODAY report at the time.

Although Kerssen confirmed to USA TODAY that officers in the video were shooting paintballs, she said the incident was not related to COVID-19. Kerssen said in an email that the incident was related to a curfew in the city imposed in response to protests over the killing of George Floyd.

Walz, now a candidate for vice president, signed an executive order on May 28, 2020, mobilizing the National Guard in Minneapolis, St. Paul and surrounding communities to combat “unlawful and dangerous activities” following Floyd's death, the order said.

In a press conference the day the video was shot, Walz warned that those who were still outside after the 8 p.m. curfew were “aiding and abetting” people who wanted to cause harm. The governor announced that the National Guard would focus on citizen safety, saying, “Protecting citizens and property is our top priority, as is maintaining and restoring public order on the streets.”

However, there is no credible report from that time that mentions Walz authorizing the use of paint grenades by the police or National Guard.

And it's unclear which agency the officers in the video are from. Both Minnesota National Guard spokeswoman Lt. Col. Kristen Augé and Minneapolis Police Department spokesman Garrett Parten told USA TODAY that the men in the video were not from their organizations.

Fact check: No, Tim Walz did not sign a bill that includes pedophilia as a “sexual orientation”

The video was shot at a time when Walz was loosening, not tightening, COVID-19 restrictions. Three days before the video was shot, Walz signed an executive order allowing some restaurants to resume outdoor dining with safety precautions. That order went into effect on June 1, two days after the video.

USA TODAY reached out to Walz's office and the Minnesota State Patrol but did not immediately receive a response. The user who shared the post could not be reached for comment.

AFP and Lead Stories have also refuted the claim.

Our fact-checking sources:

  • Kristen Augé, August 19, email exchange with USA TODAY
  • Tanya Kerssen, August 20, email exchange with USA TODAY
  • Garrett Parten, August 19, email exchange with USA TODAY
  • USA TODAY, June 2, 2020, “Light 'em up”: Minneapolis police fired paintballs at people on their porches
  • USA TODAY, May 31, 2020, George Floyd protests in Minneapolis: Police use tear gas and smoke grenades; more than two dozen arrests
  • KARE-11, May 30, 2020, Walz, State leaders say most of the damage from riots wasn't caused by Minnesotans
  • Office of Governor Tim Walz, May 27, 2020, Governor Tim Walz signs Executive Order on COVID-19
  • Minnesota Legislature, May 28, 2020, Emergency Order 20-64

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