On Sunday, pro-Palestinian agitators blocked traffic near downtown Minneapolis, harassing drivers and waving pro-Hamas flags for several hours.
Videos posted online show demonstrators riding an ATV down Hennepin Avenue and flying the Hamas terrorist flag while demonstrators are heard shouting “freedom for Palestine,” and “up, up with liberation,” and “down, down with occupation.”
Protesters drove through Minneapolis today waving the Hamas flag: pic.twitter.com/LVS7BAcvmk
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) October 22, 2023
For people saying it's the Saudi flag, it's not.
Even pro Palestine people at the protest confirmed it was the Hamas flag. pic.twitter.com/Eeb7KXN1sQ
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) October 22, 2023
The RNC X Account noted that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has yet to condemn the use of a terrorist flag in the demonstration, which is in her district.
“This weekend, the flag of Hamas — a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization — was paraded through Minneapolis,” RNC Research wrote on X. “This is @IlhanMN’s district. Why hasn’t she condemned it?”
A one point, an enraged a mob of protesters surrounded a white vehicle, beating on it and trying to break the windows.
Minneapolis: Another angle of the moment the crowd of pro-Palestine rioters sprinted after to again attack the elderly driver after he escaped them. At 29 seconds into the video, you can see a person carrying the Hamas flag. pic.twitter.com/HuEYQVI573
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) October 23, 2023
Minneapolis City Council candidate Zach Metzger posted social media a video of the mob terrorizing the elderly driver, and urged his followers to “find him.”
Metzger later deleted the post.
MN City Council candidate Zach Metzger blocked off a highway and terrorized an old white man driving past a pro-Palestine riot
He posted the video today and instructed his followers to find the old man. He has since deleted the post. We saved it.
Drone footage shows a mob… pic.twitter.com/bI6BvgkrqM
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 23, 2023
Drone footage shows the elderly driver eventually getting through makeshift barriers, further enraging the the demonstrators, who chased after the vehicle. Further down the street, the driver was blocked again by several vehicles parked across the roadway.
The video shows the driver making a U-turn through a pedestrian crosswalk and heading back in the direction he’d come from. The vehicle was able to escape down a side street in the direction of I-94/I-394, Alpha News reported.
About two minutes later, a Minneapolis police dispatcher told officers that the “protest is firing shots down onto the freeway over 94 and Hennepin,” Minneapolis Crime Watch reported.
A driver was mobbed at the Palestine direct action in Minneapolis that shut down the roads on Oct. 22. The desperate driver eventually drove off but is pursued by the mob. Since George Floyd died, Minneapolis leadership tolerates violent leftist riots. pic.twitter.com/SWZ0cZpTDm
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) October 23, 2023
Metzger appears to be “genderfluid” and reportedly also participated in the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis.
This is Zach Metzger. He is running for a seat on the Minneapolis City Council.
He participated in the original George Floyd riots in 2020.
Yesterday, he blocked off a road at a pro-Palestine riot and terrorized an old man. pic.twitter.com/viE6PtNn65
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 23, 2023
According to Minneapolis Dispatch audio captured by Crime Watch, at least two MPD supervisors told police to stay away from the area “out of sight,” even after the agitators terrorized the driver and someone allegedly fired shots.
According to Alpha News, several far left, and pro-Palestinian activists portrayed the driver on social media as a “counter protester” who had tried to endanger “peaceful protesters by plowing through the crowd with his car. They also claimed he was the one who fired the shots.
The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement that there had been no reports of injuries at the protest, and they had made no arrests.
“At approximately 3:23 p.m. on Sunday, officers from the Minneapolis Police Department responded to multiple reports of disturbances surrounding a demonstration near Loring Park, the Walker Art Center and the convergence of Hennepin Ave. and Lyndale Ave. Various witnesses reported a vehicle driving through the crowd, and one caller reported the sound of a gunshot. At this time, there have been no reports of injuries related to the demonstration, and no victims have come forward,” the police department said in response.
“The MPD investigated all reports of criminal activity from the beginning of the demonstration until it dispersed, and we are currently conducting follow-up investigations regarding this incident. There have been no arrests at this time.”
Update:
Metzger released a video Monday evening arguing that the pro-Hamas crowd were the real victims in the situation. Using highly edited footage, he claimed that the old man attacked “peaceful protesters” with a knife.
As the “End Wokeness” X account notes, the “drone footage shows that the opposite happened.”
A pro-Palestine mob blocked a highway. The mob started to attack the old man’s car. The old man then briefly got out of his car with a knife and told them to back off.
UPDATE:
Zach Metzger just released a video saying that HE is the real victim here. He claims that the old man attacked THEM.
The only problem? Drone footage shows that the opposite happened.
A pro-Palestine mob blocked a highway. The mob started to attack the old man’s car.… pic.twitter.com/pyXkZms8O4
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 24, 2023
Zach Metzger just released a video saying that HE is the real victim here. He claims that the old man attacked THEM. The only problem? Drone footage shows that the opposite happened. A pro-Palestine mob blocked a highway. The mob started to attack the old man’s car. The old man then briefly got out of his car with a knife and told them to back off.