In Minneapolis, armed patrol group tries to keep carefully the peace

As protests intensified in the Minneapolis suburb in which a officer fatally shot Daunte Wright, a group of Black men joined the crowd intent on keeping the peace and protecting against protests from escalating into violence.

Hundreds of folks have gathered beyond your heavily guarded Brooklyn Center police station every evening since Sunday, when former Officer Kim Potter, who is white, shot the 20-year-old Black motorist throughout a traffic stop. Despite the mayor's calls for police and protesters to cut back their tactics, the nights have often ended in objects hurled, tear gas and arrests.

The Black men at the edge of the crowd wear yellow patches on protective vests that identify them as members of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters, an organization formed to supply security in Minneapolis' north side neighborhoods during unrest following the death of George Floyd this past year. They aren't shy about casting a forceful image - the group's Facebook page features members posing with assault-style weapons and describes itself as an “elite security unit” - but on Friday the Freedom Fighters didn't seem to be armed and said they intended and then encourage peaceful protesting.

As several people started out to rattle a fence protecting the Brooklyn Center police department, the Freedom Fighters communicated to the other person over walkie-talkies. They declined to state how many are in their group.

On recent nights, the Freedom Fighters have moved through the crowd in formation, wearing body armor and dark clothing, weaving past umbrella-wielding demonstrators to create separation along a double-layer perimeter security fence. Their passive tactics are designed to deescalate the tension, stopping agitators from pressing forward and provoking regulations enforcement officers standing at attention with pepper-ball and less-lethal sponge grenade launchers at the ready.

“We are able to keep it peaceful,” said Tyrone Hartwell, a 36-year-old former U.S. Marine who is one of the group. “There's always somebody in the group that wants to incite something," adding that throwing objects at the authorities takes the focus from their demands justice and seeps energy from the movement.

Minneapolis is on edge - simultaneously watching the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in Floyd's death and reeling from the shooting of Wright. In the midst of that, Hartwell said the Freedom Fighters want to push the movement for racial justice forward, while keeping away the violence and destruction that often acutely impacts minority communities.

Hartwell pointed to the apartments across the street from the Brooklyn Center police department, where residents have complained of tear gas streaming into their homes. They will be the kinds who suffer when clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators escalate, he said.

The group was formed following the NAACP put out a demand armed men to organize and protect their neighborhoods from looting and arson following Floyd's death. Hartwell said sets of white people had enter into predominantly Black communities and harassed children.

As the group came together, Hartwell formed bonds with and mentored other Black men as they took an active role in protecting their neighborhoods.

“We value our community,” he said. “We all have kids so we have to start in the home first.”

They have also formed relationships with metropolis government and police department. City spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie said there are various “formal and informal relationships" with members of the Freedom Fighters, nonetheless it will not fund or contract with the business since it is an armed group.

However, some demonstrators said those ties mean the Freedom Fighters act at the behest of the authorities and so are not aggressive enough in calling them to account.

As the crowd grew Friday, umbrella-carrying demonstrators became emboldened. Chants of “Daunte Wright” and “George Floyd” gave way to insults to the police. A small number of Freedom Fighters, visibly and vocally angry at the growing tension, refused to leave at the urgings of their comrades. They grabbed at the umbrellas, calling for calm and pleading for outsiders to stop escalations.

Errant flash-bang canisters exploded overhead, scattering spectators and giving those eager to confront law enforcement their possibility to push forward in to the fracas. The Freedom Fighters disappeared in the confusion, struggling to prevent the altercation after a peaceful evening of protest fell into chaos.