Legalectric

Last Friday, Alan and I were on errands, and we stopped at Lisu’s Thai Taste (oh, I miss being able to go up there regularly!), and saw a bearcat sitting on the 80th St. overpass of Hwy. 61 in Cottage Grove and grabbed this photo (3 p.m. May 29, 2002):

Facing us, and the bearcat, was this:

We were on our way back home, with stop for picnic in Hastings. As we arrived at the riverside park, we saw a law enforcement boat (sheriff? It was red, couldn’t read the side) motoring up the Mississippi at a high rate of speed. WHAT IS GOING ON? So I fired up the phone, and saw on a Red Wing list claims that “rioters are heading our way,” that “THE BLACK PANTHERS ARE COMING!” and “they’re coming to burn down the Cottage Grove High School, Chauvin went there!” What? Yeah, really. Later there was an alert distributed by Red Wing Police Dept. saying there was a “credible threat” and that people should stay away from the protest scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, and this notion of a “credible threat” was confirmed by more than one City Council member.

My red flags went up, false flag detectors bending the needle. I did some calling around, because no one who had posted this crap knew anything about it, they didn’t source before posting. Stores were closed in Cottage Grove, Target was closing all their metro stores, Menards hadn’t closed yet, and the guy who answered at Menards, which was closing in an hour, was utterly freaked, that “thousands of rioters were coming to Cottage Grove,” and “they’re going to burn down the high school because Chauvin went there” (again) (did he? and why would anyone care decades later?). Had a rational conversation with someone from the sheriff’s office, the bearcat was out there due to the rumors “with utmost caution,” but I heard an undercurrent of “good grief, what are people thinking” in the mix.

I’ve sent in this Data Practices Act Request, because the rumors and “alerts” and “credible threats,” well, they aren’t credible — I mean really, 70-75,000 agitators on the road to the Metro? Out-state communities filled with rumors of THOUSANDS OF RIOTERS deemed credible threat? Who would believe such crap, and who is spreading this around and why? Who benefits from this?

UPDATED: Sheriff says credible threats were received Saturday; state Rep. Grossell takes part in citizen patrol

Walz sending national guard to Minnesota’s western border due to ‘credible threat’

From Unicorn Riot, looking into the workings and ties to Minnesota Fusion Center:

Police Fusion Center Tied to Fake Social Media Accounts