Cabot Phillips@cabot_phillips · Oct 1, 2024

I spent a day in Minneapolis to see what life is like under Tim Walz. What I found was a city in decline. 🧵🧵🧵

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Summary

A critical examination of Minneapolis under Governor Tim Walz's leadership, highlighting urban decay including abandoned buildings from 2020 riots, homeless encampments plagued by overdoses and violence, a major COVID-related fraud scheme involving Somali non-profits, downtown deterioration, and closed businesses attributed to crime and policy.

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#1
I spent a day in Minneapolis to see what life is like under Tim Walz. What I found was a city in decline. 🧵🧵🧵
#2
This is the spot where George Floyd died. 4 years later, it’s been turned into a shrine. Across the street lies the shell of a gas station burned down by rioters. Buildings on every corner of the block now sit vacant.
#3
A few blocks away sits the burned out shell of what was once the Minneapolis PD’s Third Precinct headquarters. Bullet holes are still visible in the exterior.
#4
Next, I visit a homeless encampment that’s taken over a quiet neighborhood in town. The night before, a man in the camp overdosed — five nights later, another was shot to death. I talk with Arne, who’s been trying unsuccessfully to remove them from his property.
#5
As we speak, a car pulls up and a half dozen masked people walk directly towards us, setting inches away in an attempt to block our camera crew.
#6
My next stop is ‘Little Mogadishu,’ a part of Minneapolis home to 50,000 Somalis — one of the largest concentrations of Somalis anywhere in the world. It's long been plagued with elevated crime rates, but in recent years, has been home to one of the largest fraud operations in American history.
#7
During COVID, dozens Somalis operated a fake non-profit that took in more than $250 million in taxpayer money. According to David Gaither, a longtime Minnesota businessman and legislator, that money was used to fund lavish lifestyles and terror groups in Somalia.
#8
I head downtown and find a surprisingly empty city with vacant storefronts and open drug use on the sidewalks. One of those vacant storefronts used to be Greg’s Saloon. I talk to Greg, who closed his business due to rising crime and oppressive COVID policies enacted by Walz.
#9
For a more detailed look at Walz's tenure, I talked with veteran Minnesota reporter @lizcollin. “He’s being sold as this moderate ‘aw-shucks’ guy who will give us some dad jokes. But there’s never been a more radical governor — ever — in Minnesota history,” Collin said.