CNN is not naming the suspect, who was nicknamed “Umbrella Man” after the protests, as police said no charges had been filed until Tuesday afternoon.
Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder told CNN Tuesday that the case “remains an open and active investigation.” But he said he couldn’t comment further.
The “Umbrella Man” video went viral after protesters in Minneapolis confronted him and filmed it on May 27 while he was breaking several windows of an AutoZone store.
An arson investigator wrote in a search warrant affidavit that the man also spray-painted the words “free zone for everyone” on the AutoZone doors. Not long after it crashed into the windows, the looting began, and a little later the AutoZone was set on fire, according to the affidavit.
“This was the first fire that sparked a series of fires and looting throughout the compound and the rest of the city,” said Sgt. Erika Christensen, an investigator of Minneapolis police arson fires, wrote in the affidavit, which was filed in court on Monday.
“Until the actions of the person his affiliate called ‘Umbrella Man’, the protests had been relatively peaceful. This person’s actions created an atmosphere of hostility and tension. His affiliate believed that this individual’s sole objective was incite violence. ” “
Previous attempts to identify the ‘Umbrella Man’ failed
“Umbrella Man”, who appears to be white, was seen dressed in black and wearing a black gas mask. He was carrying an umbrella and did not identify himself when he faced peaceful protesters who questioned what he was doing. Protesters and online detectives began a furious search to try to identify him for weeks.
In the days after the fires and looting, both Governor Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey mentioned the possible influence of strangers and white supremacists who were on the streets to take advantage of intensified racial tensions.
A council helped discover his identity, says order
Christensen said in the arrest warrant that the police recently received a notice about the identity of the “Umbrella Man.”
The informant told the investigator that the man “wanted to sow discord and racial unrest by breaking windows and writing what he did on the red double doors.”
The order says “Umbrella Man” was present during “an incident in Stillwater Minnesota where a Muslim woman was racially harassed by a group of motorcycle club members wearing Aryan Cowboy leather vests.”
He was photographed with the group, according to the order.
Aryan Cowboy Brotherhood did not respond to CNN’s request for comment and blocked the CNN reporter who communicated on social media.
CNN’s Paul P. Murphy contributed to this report.
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