George Floyd Riots and the Umbrella Man

A masked white man who was seen in a viral video holding an umbrella and smashing the windows of a South Minneapolis auto parts store during the early days of protests over the killing of George Floyd has been identified by police as a suspected white supremacist who was seeking to incite racial violence.

The mysterious figure dubbed “umbrella man” on social media is a suspected member of the Hell’s Angels biker gang, the Star Tribune reported, citing a search warrant affidavit filed in court this week by a Minneapolis police arson investigator.

The police affidavit quoted by the paper says the man’s May 27 vandalism at an AutoZone near the city’s 3rd Precinct police station disrupted what had been a mostly peaceful demonstration two days after Floyd’s death in police custody. The automotive parts supply store was among the first buildings set aflame, triggering days of destructive protests that left a wide swath of the city burned and destroyed.

“This was the first fire that set off a string of fires and looting throughout the precinct and the rest of the city,” arson investigator Erika Christensen wrote in a court filing obtained by the Star Tribune. “Until the actions of the person your affiant has been calling ‘Umbrella man,’ the protests had been relatively peaceful. The actions of this person created an atmosphere of hostility and tension. Your affiant believes that this individual’s sole aim was to incite violence.”

Because the suspect has not been formally charged, the Star Tribune did not identify him, but describes him as a 32-year-old man who has also been implicated in another racial incident in nearby Stillwater, Minn., in which a Muslim woman was harassed by a group of men wearing white supremacist clothing. Police reportedly identified him based on a tip emailed to investigators last week.

Prior to that, police say, the man, clad in black head-to-toe and carrying a black umbrella, had spray painted “free (expletive) for everyone zone” on the double front doors.

Christensen wrote in the affidavit that she watched “innumerable hours” of videos on social media platforms like Tik Tok, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube to try to identify the suspect, to no avail. Investigators finally caught a break when a tipster e-mailed the Minneapolis Police Department identifying the man as a member of the Hell’s Angels biker gang who “wanted to sow discord and racial unrest by breaking out the windows and writing what he did on the double red doors,” the affidavit said.

A subsequent investigation revealed that the man was also an associate of the Aryan Cowboy Brotherhood, a small white supremacist prison and street gang based primarily in Minnesota and Kentucky. Several of its members were present at the Stillwater incident.

In the days after the rioting started, video of “Umbrella Man” ricocheted around social media, prompting a flurry of speculation about the man’s identity.

One widespread online rumor claimed “Umbrella Man” was a St. Paul police officer, apparently based on a tweet citing information from a “close friend” who claimed to have been married to the officer.

In response, St. Paul police released a series of time-stamped surveillance videos showing that the officer was in St. Paul at the time of the incident and police Chief Todd Axtell released a statement scolding social media users for spreading misinformation that could “jeopardize the officer’s reputation and safety and chip away at the trust this police department has worked so hard to build with its community.”

Clarence Boddiker wrote: »

Yes of course, all the riots, all the burning down buildings, the rapes, the shootings, the shooting at police, the petrol bombing police, the burning down of police stations, the attacks on innocent bystanders...all over America.

They are the fault of a white supremacist with an umbrella..

Carfacemandog wrote: »

This thread was asking who the Umbrella Man was. Overheal let us know who the Umbrella Man was, as police confirmed in the last day or so. And your response was to act sarcastic about the perfectly legitimate answer, to attempt to put words in that posters mouth that they never said, and now try to change the topic of the thread on to something else entirely.

It's an odd and as I said, very defensive response.

Overheal wrote: »

And who exactly was blaming or even inferring that this lone man was the cause of it all? Quite the irrational overreaction to a revelation of fact here: which is that yes, opportunists like this individual have sought to pour gas on the protests and blame it on the protesters. We have seen this also with those already under arrest for criminal acts in connection with the Boogaloo Movement. Nobody here or of public interest to my recollection has tried to assert that the violence is the sole remit of these groups trying to instigate false flag incidents. However, this doesn’t negate the fact, as evidenced here, that they are engaged in such behavior.

Why so upset? Does this offend your world view that the violence was solely left wing?

Deleted User wrote: »

Asks question
Receives response which doesn't suit his world view
Proceeds to throw toys out of the pram
"BLM/AntiFa have a lot to answer for!!!"

Jokeshop of a thread.

Clarence Boddiker wrote: »

I Didn't ask any question?