MINNEAPOLIS — Ohio Senator JD Vance wants more people to know what happened in Minneapolis in May of 2020 after George Floyd was murdered while being arrested by local police officers.
While in the city Monday for a fundraising event, Donald Trump's running mate took an unannounced side trip to the Minneapolis Police Department's shuttered 3rd Precinct Headquarters on East Lake Street.
"During these riots, these guys were given up for dead. Their police chief told them to stand down, hoping that it would save their lives," Vance told the traveling press pool while motioning to the retired MPD officers standing behind him.
"And the important question is what were their leaders, particularly, what was Governor Walz doing to keep these officers safe and to bring order to the city of Minneapolis?"
The Minneapolis City Council hasn't made a decision about what to do with the boarded-up police station, but it continues to be used as a backdrop for Republican politicians who want to blame Democrats for what happened during the riots.
Walz won reelection in 2022, despite efforts by Republicans to assert he mishandled the state's response to the riots. Now that he is Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate his actions from 2020 are under renewed criticism.
The Democratic governor has been criticized for delays in calling in the Minnesota National Guard after it was clear rioters outnumbered local, county, and state officers already trying to protect property. Police organizations have decried the fact that Walz recommended evacuating officers from the besieged police station, which enabled rioters to overtake it and torch it after it was vacated.
Rioters targeted that building because it's where Officer Derek Chauvin, who was later convicted of murdering Floyd, was stationed. Walz has said at that point it would've endangered the lives of police, first responders, bystanders, and National Guard members to try to hold that building.
"I cannot believe how much this governor abandoned his own people," Vance told reporters Monday. "The very quality of leadership is that you fight for your own people."
Reporters reminded Vance that then-President Trump praised Walz's handling of the riots during a conference call in June of 2020. Vance said that Trump was being polite, but it doesn't change the facts of what happened in Minnesota.
Vance also repeated the flawed narrative of Trump and other Republicans that it was Trump who activated the Minnesota National Guard that week. Walz, as governor, controls the Minnesota National Guard when they're not being used for a federal mission. It was Walz who issued the executive order to activate the Guard.
RELATED: VERIFY: Did Gov. Walz respond too slowly in activating the National Guard during the 2020 riots?
Lt. Gen. Jon Jenson, who served as the adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard at the time, testified in a Senate hearing that Walz was the person who deployed the Minnesota Guard.
Then-President Trump had considered sending regular US Army troops to the riot zone, which would require invoking the Insurrection Act. His own military commanders advised against it, saying the state national guard would be the more suitable choice if military police action was required to assist local authorities.
The delays getting Minnesota Guard members on the ground in the riot zone has been attributed to many factors, one of which was the original request from the Minneapolis Police Department lacked sufficient clarity about what the mission would be. As military units consisting of citizen soldiers living across the state, there was also a built-in delay getting them into the Twin Cities hot spots.
Vance's journey to the 3rd Precinct came after he headlined a fundraiser at an undisclosed location in the Twin Cities. An invitation to that fundraiser obtained by Axios set $25,000 as the minimum a person would have to donate or raise in order to attend.
Those who brought in $100,000 could get preferred seating at the roundtable and a photo with the candidate. Those who could raise or donate $250,000 would also get to take part in a meet-and-greet session. One of the hosts was listed as Ryan Wilson, who made an unsuccessful bid for state auditor in 2022.
Although the 3rd Precinct stop wasn't announced in advance, it had clearly been planned.
Several retired MPD officers joined Vance, along with Second Congressional District candidate Joe Teirab, and three Minnesota county sheriffs -- Sherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott, Cass County Sheriff Brian Welk, and Isanti County Sheriff Wayne Seiberlich.
The Harris-Walz campaign was provided with a summary of Vance's remarks and had not responded as of Monday evening.