Police in Minneapolis say a man known as “Umbrella Man”, seen damaging property in the city during the Black Lives Matter protests, has links to white supremacy groups. People took to the city’s streets following the death there in May of George Floyd, an unarmed black man. Police say Umbrella Man helped turn the largely peaceful protests violent. Footage of the man wearing a mask and carrying an umbrella while smashing shop windows went viral online. In the video, taken on 27 May, Umbrella Man can be seen breaking the windows with a hammer as people approach him trying to get him to stop. He then walks away from the scene. Police said he also sprayed a message on the doors of the store. It sparked questions as to who the man was and his motives. (…) According to the Star Tribune, the man was identified following an email tip-off. The email claimed the man was a member of the Hells Angels biker gang. An investigation found that the man was also connected to the Aryan Cowboys, a prison biker / street gang. The Anti-Defamation League identifies them as a white supremacist group based primarily in Kentucky and Minnesota.
A search warrant by Minneapolis Police claims that the man has previous convictions for domestic violence and assault. It was these previous arrests that officers claim helped them identify the man. They compared images taken from the incident in Minneapolis to previous booking photos. The warrant claims that the man’s size and eye, nose and brow area match that of Umbrella Man. It is also alleged that the man was involved in an incident last month in which a Muslim woman was confronted by a motorcycle group wearing Aryan Cowboy leather vests.
via bbc: Umbrella Man: Minneapolis suspect linked to white supremacists
siehe auch: ‘Umbrella Man’ went viral breaking windows at a protest. He was a white supremacist trying to spark violence, police say. With an umbrella in his left hand and a hammer in his right, the man in black lobbed his weapon so nonchalantly into an auto parts shop’s windows that it surprised many others in Minneapolis marching nearby in a May 27 protest after George Floyd’s death. Soon after the abrupt attack, the mostly calm demonstration near a police precinct erupted into looting and arson — the first fire in riots that eventually caused $500 million in damage and left two people dead, the Associated Press reported. For weeks afterward, activists and Internet commenters homed in on a viral video of the figure nicknamed “Umbrella Man,” speculating that his intent was actually to turn the peaceful protests destructive. On Tuesday, Minneapolis police identified him as an affiliate of a white supremacist group that allegedly sought to “incite violence,” according to a search warrant affidavit filed in the Hennepin County District Court. The Star Tribune first reported of the warrant. The 32-year-old man has not been charged; Affidavit: Hell’s Angels member believed to be ‘Umbrella Man’ spotted inciting violence during George Floyd protests. A man who was spotted inciting violence during the George Floyd protests, known as “Umbrella Man” due to the umbrella he was carrying, is believed to be a member of the Hell’s Angels and an associate of the Aryan Cowboys biker gang, according to an affidavit. A search warrant application filed Monday in Hennepin County District Court states, on the afternoon of May 27, a man seen wearing all black and carrying an umbrella was spotted walking along the front of a Minneapolis AutoZone and smashing out the windows with a sledgehammer. The AutoZone was kitty-corner from the Minneapolis Third Police Precinct.
