FBI seeks tips on 'Umbrella Man' seen smashing windows at start of 2020 riots
The FBI is asking for the public's help identifying a man seen vandalizing a Minneapolis auto parts store at the start of the 2020 riots. Photos and video of “Umbrella Man” instigating destruction were among the most widely shared images from the unrest.
A white man wearing a respirator mask and carrying an open black umbrella was seen outside an Auto Zone at Lake St. and 27th Avenue S. on May 27, 2020, two days after George Floyd's murder, breaking windows with a hammer.
The subsequent fire in the building was the first of many arsons in the Twin Cities over the next three days.
In photos the FBI released Tuesday, the man is wearing a black ballcap with the letters L, M, and Co in a yellow shamrock logo, which appears to be a logo used by the skateboarding apparel maker Loser Machine Co.
In a 2020 search warrant, a Minneapolis police investigator identified the suspect as a Ramsey, Minn. man and alleged he was a “known associate” of the Ayran Cowboys white supremacist gang. MPR News is not naming the man, now 34, because he was never arrested or charged.
After social media users wrongly named the suspect as a St. Paul police officer, and rumors of his involvement spread online, the department released surveillance video showing the officer on duty at a St. Paul Police training center at the time of the vandalism and fire.
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