Late Monday evening, unrest broke out in St. Cloud for the second consecutive night. In response, Senator Jerry Relph (R-St. Cloud) issued the following statement:

“I was extremely disheartened to hear of a second night of looting and violence in St. Cloud. There were reports of gunshots in the crowd, people throwing rocks, assaults, and dumpster fires, but the swift action of the St. Cloud Police Department stopped the unrest from becoming unmanageable.

“I could not be prouder of the St. Cloud Police Department for their remarkable professionalism and empathy as they were confronted with unrest for a second night in a row. I believe that is a result of the leadership of Chief of Police Blair Anderson and the relationship the police department has with our community. I also want to commend community leaders with the St. Cloud NAACP, who, together with the father of the individual involved in Monday night’s incident, did all they could to make sure the demonstrations remained as peaceful as possible.

“There is undoubtedly a great deal of pain in our community and our state. We are strong and resilient—and we will move forward together.”

Senator Jerry Relph represents St. Cloud, Waite Park, St. Augusta and surrounding areas in the Minnesota Senate. He serves as chair of the Senate Family Care and Aging Committee.