Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey ruffles feathers with George Floyd tribute on Memorial Day

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey faced backlash after marking the anniversary of George Floyd’s death on Memorial Day, a holiday dedicated to fallen US service members.

Six years after Floyd’s death outside a Minneapolis grocery store sparked nationwide protests, Frey posted a series of messages reflecting on the event and what followed.

Jacob Frey marks George Floyd anniversary

“Today, we remember George Floyd, who was murdered by a former Minneapolis police officer six years ago,” Frey wrote on X. “That moment changed our city forever.” Frey argued that Floyd’s death forced Minneapolis into a period of reckoning.

According to the mayor, the city had to “confront painful truths about race, policing, inequity, and trust, and demanded hard conversations and accountability. Since Floyd’s murder, our city has been challenged not just to say we’ve changed, but to prove it.”

Frey referenced the ongoing redevelopment tied to the area where Floyd died. He also pointed to changes the city says it has made in the years since.

“We’ve worked hard to reform policing, strengthen our department, and rebuild trust with neighbors, while knowing there is still more work ahead,” he wrote. “This anniversary also comes as reconstruction begins at George Floyd Square and work continues on the People’s Way.”

“The weight of what happened is still with our city six years later, and the responsibility to keep moving forward together is too. I know we can keep building a Minneapolis that is safer, more accountable, and more worthy of the people who call it home,” he said.

“We are committed to honoring this place both as a memorial with global significance and as a neighborhood where people live, work, gather, and heal,” Frey added.

We are committed to honoring this place both as a memorial with global significance and as a neighborhood where people live, work, gather, and heal.

George Floyd death sparked nationwide protests

Floyd, a Black man, died on May 25, 2020, after being confronted by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin over allegations that he used a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store.

During the arrest, Chauvin, who is white, held Floyd on the ground with his knee pressed against Floyd’s neck for roughly nine minutes. Video captured by a teenage bystander spread rapidly and showed Floyd repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe.”

An official medical examiner later ruled Floyd’s death a homicide caused by cardiopulmonary arrest associated with law enforcement restraint and neck compression. The report also stated that intoxication likely contributed to his death.

Floyd’s family commissioned an independent medical examination that reached a different conclusion, attributing his death to asphyxia and rejecting the idea that illicit substances played a major role.

Chauvin is currently serving a 22-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being convicted of second-degree manslaughter, unintentional second-degree murder, and third-degree murder.

Critics slam Jacob Frey’s Memorial Day George Floyd tribute

That said, Frey’s posts quickly drew pushback, largely because they arrived on Memorial Day.

“Newsflash: Today is Memorial Day, not George Floyd Day. Show our fallen heroes and their families some freaking respect,” wrote Randy Fine. “You’re a complete disgrace to America, @MayorFrey.”

Others tied their criticism to the aftermath of Floyd’s death, which triggered protests across the US, as well as periods of unrest in some cities that included looting, arson, and property damage.

Reporter Andy Ngo replied, “It changed your city, state and my country for the worse. Rioters on your side killed people and did billions in economic damage. And for what? Defunding police policies that have led to more people being killed.”

Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren added, “At first I thought this had to be a parody. I thought no way this fruity ass mayor was possibly honoring George Floyd on Memorial Day… But here it is.”

Later in the day, Frey separately acknowledged Memorial Day itself, calling it “a time to remember the brave service members who gave their lives for our country and the freedoms we enjoy today.”

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