White Looters at George Floyd Protests Spotted Breaking Into, Stealing From Patagonia Store

White looters attending a George Floyd protest were spotted breaking into and stealing from a Patagonia store in California. The incident was caught on camera by news outlets, with the footage soon going viral on social media. In a clip shared on Twitter, a number of individuals can be seen stealing surfboards and various other items from the store. One pair of white looters is even seen driving off on a motorcycle.

Riots and looting began taking place following peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd on May 25. Floyd was being arrested by four Minneapolis police officers when one of them knelt down on his neck to keep him restrained. Floyd cried out that he couldn’t breathe, but the officer, and two others that were positioned lower on his body, did not respond to his cries. A fourth officer stood by and handled crowd control, also ignoring Floyd’s cries. The incident was captured on camera by citizens who witnessed it. Eventually, Floyd became unresponsive and had to be transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

All four officers were fired for their involvement in Floyd’s death, and the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck — Derek Chauvin — was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence. His murder charge was later upgraded to second-degree murder. The other three officers — Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao — have also been arrested, with each being charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder” and “aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz commented on the new charges, saying that they are a “meaningful step toward justice for George Floyd.” Walz called Floyd’s death a “symptom of a disease,” and stated that he believes curing systemic racism “is on each of us to solve together.” However, he added that it is still important to “recognize that the anguish driving protests around the world is about more than one tragic incident.”

Benjamin Crump, Floyd’s family lawyer, released a statement regarding the new charges on the family’s behalf, saying that “this is a bittersweet moment” for them. He added that the family feels “deeply gratified” that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison “took decisive action” by “arresting and charging ALL the officers involved” in Floyd’s death.”

Crump also stated that the family was also glad to hear that officials upgraded Chauvin’s third-degree murder charge to “felony second-degree murder.” When publicly announcing the charges, Ellison said, “I strongly believe that these developments are in the interest of justice for Mr. Floyd, his family, our community and our state.”