A retired police lieutenant in Minnesota is challenging the characterization of Gov. Tim Walz as a “moderate,” alleging in an interview with Fox News Digital that Walz “intentionally” allowed Minneapolis to burn during the 2020 riots due to his deep-seated dislike of the police. “He is not a moderate, he has never been a moderate and here in Minnesota he has been anti-police, he has raised taxes, he is nowhere near being a moderate,” retired Minnesota State Patrol Lt. John Nagel told Fox News Digital.
“He’s anti-police, defund the police, when you have police families, and we have an officer killed in the line of duty, when that family looks at the governor and says we don’t want you at the funeral. That should tell you a great deal of how law enforcement in general feels about Walz,” Nagel continued. Last year, the widow of Pope County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Owen, who died while responding to a domestic violence call, informed Gov. Tim Walz that he was not welcome at her husband’s funeral, citing his lack of support for law enforcement, according to Alpha News.
Nagel told Fox News Digital that a significant factor behind law enforcement’s dissatisfaction with Walz is his delayed response in deploying the National Guard during the 2020 George Floyd riots, which has drawn intense criticism since he became the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Nagel, who is running as a Republican in Minnesota House District 46A, suggested that this slow response might have been a result of political calculations, he told Fox News.
“We’re hearing this over and over and over again, he let Minneapolis burn,” Nagel said. “I think he intentionally let Minneapolis burn.” He added: “I think it was all part of a much greater scheme because he truly doesn’t like the police. [Minnesota Attorney General] Keith Ellison has never liked the police. They have been involved with people who are defunding the police.”
Walz, who publicly supported “alternatives to policing” while the Minnesota City Council was advocating for the police department’s disbandment in 2020, has faced extensive criticism from Republicans for failing to provide stronger support for law enforcement during the riots, Fox noted.
“Tim Walz let Minneapolis burn for three straight nights without doing anything,” GOP Rep. Pete Stauber, who represents Duluth, Minnesota and surrounding areas, previously told Fox News Digital. “And he called the riots, he stated their actions were, this is a quote, ‘righteous anger.’ Hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to family businesses and buildings in Minneapolis.” Stauber told Fox News Digital that the “vast majority” of law enforcement officers in the state are “disgruntled” with Walz’s “lack of support.”
Nagel, a 30-year veteran of law enforcement, told Fox News Digital that Democratic policies are “hurting Minnesota,” leading many residents to leave “in droves,” and claimed that Walz has played a significant role in the “dismantling of public safety in Minnesota.” When asked by Fox News what he believes voters unfamiliar with Walz should know from a veteran law enforcement perspective, Nagel emphasized his concerns about the governor’s impact on public safety.
“I think they need to understand that he’s not truthful, I think they need to understand that he’s power hungry, they need to understand that he’s not doing this for the good of the people,” Nagel said. “He’s doing it for the good of himself, and he is going to be lockstep with whatever the Democrats want, and I think it would be, just take a look at Minnesota, he’s ruined Minnesota along with this trifecta of the Democrats.”
“Can you only imagine what he’s going to be able to do with your federal tax dollars? And when North Korea decides to knock on the door, he and his president, are they going to be able to actually handle a national crisis when he couldn’t handle a crisis in Minneapolis?” Nagel concluded.
