In the early 2020s, the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Minnesota experienced a wave of civil unrest, comprising peaceful demonstrations and riots, against systemic racism toward black Americans, notably in the form of police violence.

[5] Some initial acts of property destruction on May 27 by a 32-year-old man with ties to white supremacist organizations, who local police investigators said was deliberately inciting racial tension, led to a chain reaction of fires and looting.

[7] After state officials mobilized Minnesota National Guard troops in its largest deployment since World War II,[18][19] the violent unrest subsided and mostly peaceful protests resumed.

[31] The city also allocated $4.7 million to establish a permanent memorial at the site, though by the end of 2020, it was unable to reach agreement with community organizations that had presented officials with a list of demands before opening the intersection back up.

[68] Despite the cancellation of the official Twin Cities Pride event, on June 28 protesters gathered in downtown Minneapolis and called for justice for Floyd, greater protections for black transgender people, community control of policing, and the freeing of "political prisoners".

Organizers of two marches, dubbed "Black 4th", through predominately white areas of the city sought to continue the momentum for police reform and raise awareness about social justice issues.

[78] In December 2020, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman's office declined to file charges against the pawn shop owner after a six-month investigation due to lack of evidence that the shooting was not self-defense.

Officials adopted a deescalation for disbanding camps due to the ongoing civil unrest, and when they attempted to remove tents at non-permitted sites, they faced opposition from a sanctuary movement and protest groups.

[83] On August 15, a 100-person protest group led by Nekima Levy Armstrong's Racial Justice Network gathered outside Kroll's home in Hugo, Minnesota, to call for his resignation from the Minneapolis police union.

[92] Surveillance video showed that Sole had died by suicide, a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, during a manhunt for a homicide suspect in which he was the person of interest as police officers closed in to arrest him after a foot chase.

[101][102] Two years after a large camp was disbanded near Hiawatha and Franklin avenues in Minneapolis, on September 3 a group backed by protesters and American Indian Movement advocates reoccupied a site they called the Wall of Forgotten Natives.

On November 5, defense attorneys cited the exchange on September 11 and safety concerns in their arguments in court to have a change of venue to another jurisdiction for the trial, but Peter Cahill, the presiding judge, rejected their motion.

[105] Denis Molla, a 30-year old man from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, gained widespread media attention after he alleged that in the early morning hours of September 23, 2020, his detached garage and camper were vandalized with graffiti and set on fire by supporters of Black Lives Matter and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

As they attempted to exit the highway, Minneapolis police and Minnesota state patrol officers fired tear gas and then kettled and arrested 646 people for public nuisance and unlawful assembly, while continuing to block traffic for several hours.

[119] Protests emerged the evening of December 30 after police shot and killed Dolal Idd at a Holiday gas station near the intersection of Cedar Avenue and East 36th Street in Minneapolis.

From the downtown area, demonstrators walked to Commons Park near U.S. Bank Stadium, where police observed the group shooting fireworks at motorists, painting graffiti on the walls of local government buildings, and disrupting traffic.

Protesters gathered at South High School and marched along Lake Street past the Minneapolis Police Department's third precinct building that was set on fire in May 2020 after Floyd's murder.

Separately, protesters marched in downtown Minneapolis to demand justice for Floyd and rallied at the Hennepin County Government Center and City Hall, and some demonstrators parked cars on the Metro light-rail tracks, which closed train traffic for several hours.

[148] On April 19, twenty activist groups coordinated a large demonstration and march through the streets in Minneapolis near the Hennepin County Government Center building where Chauvin's trial was held.

Protesters made several demands: lengthy sentences for the officers involved in Floyd's murder, police reform legislation in Minnesota, to have charges dropped against demonstrators in Brooklyn Center and at other recent events, and for officials to end Operation Safety Net and other counter-protest measures.

Officials with the Operation Safety Net also reported three business burglaries in Minneapolis and that a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources vehicle deployed for potential unrest was broken into and had a firearm stolen from it.

[156][157] Winston Boogie Smith, a 32-year-old black man, was shot and killed by law enforcement authorities on June 3, 2021, as they attempted to apprehend him at a parking ramp in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis.

[166][167] On June 13, 2021, Nicholas Kraus, a 35-year old man from Saint Paul, drove a car into a crowd of demonstrators who had gathered as a part of the ongoing Winston Boogie Smith protests, killing Deona Marie Knajdek and injuring three others.

[168][169][170] On June 16, he was charged with second-degree intentional murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon in relation to the crash, after allegedly telling investigators that he had accelerated toward the crowd in an attempt to clear the barricades that were protecting protesters.

[185][186] Dozens attended a rally organized by Minnesota Teen Activists on November 19 outside U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis to support students who spoke out against racism at Prior Lake High School.

[197] In early 2022, local officials prepared counter-protest measures for potential unrest ahead of the scheduled January 20 start of the federal civil rights trial of J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao—Minneapolis police officers who were at the scene of George Floyd's murder.

[223][224][225] Under the slogan "Remember May 28", a group of demonstrators marched on East Lake Street in Minneapolis on May 28, 2022, to mark the second anniversary of the burning of the city's third police precinct building in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder.

Family members, who retained civil rights attorneys Benjamin Crump and Jeff Storms, questioned why Sundberg was shot and sought release of police body camera footage.

[241] After several days of shootings that left two dead and several injured, residents and activists on the north side of Minneapolis staged a protest to block access to and shutdown Winner Gas and Merwin Liquors for several hours.

[248] On December 5, Saint Paul Police Department officers responded to a domestic assault 911 call in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood allegedly involving Johnson and set up a perimeter to apprehend him.