ST PAUL, Minn. — State law enforcement officials said there will be no extended curfew orders in place for this weekend (June 5-7) in the Twin Cities.
The decision comes after a full week of curfews in Minneapolis and St. Paul in attempt to quell and discourage unrest following the death of George Floyd.
"When the state first moved in to try to help the city of Minneapolis, it didn’t seem like there were going to be good nights coming anytime soon," Commissioner of Public Safety John Harrington said in a news conference Friday. "We’re moving now from that place where we’ve had some good nights, to a place where we’re talking about resiliency for our communities."
The commissioner said the curfew orders were largely successful, though there were some arrests for curfew violations.
"We think that frankly, Twin Cities folks knocked it out of the park on the curfew," he said. "Every night it got better."
Harrington said law enforcement will remain prepared to confront any unrest, but they may not be as visible to the public this weekend.
"We’re going to be still out there. We’re reducing our very public-facing presence, but there’s going to be just as many people working to make sure Minnesotans, the people of Minneapolis, the Twin Cities stay safe," he said.
The commissioner said he would recommend that people continue to stay home and indoors during the late night hours as much as possible, to give law enforcement room to "get after the bad actors," but there would not be a formal curfew order.
In addition, the state's Multi-Agency Coordination Center will remain in place through the weekend to allow for rapid coordination and response should any incidents arise.
“This is a matter of being vigilant," Harrington said. "While we’ve had some success, success is never a guarantee."
