MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (CNN Newsource) – Police in Minneapolis say they believe they have identified a man who they say helped incite a riot following the death of George Floyd.
The so-called “Umbrella Man” was seen on video breaking windows and confronting a photojournalist.
According to a police search warrant, a key moment when the riots took a more violent turn was when a man in black with an umbrella broke out windows of an Auto Zone.
A tipster told police that the man is a member of the Hell’s Angels and wanted to sow discord and racial unrest.
The search warrant said the man is a known associate of the Aryan Cowboys, a prison gang out of Minnesota and Kentucky.
Minneapolis police have also linked the man to a June incident in Stillwater, Minnesota, where a Muslim woman was harassed by a motorcycle club wearing Aryan Cowboy leather vests.
Last month, St. Paul police were forced to issue a denial along with time-stamped photographs showing the man was not one of their own officers.
The man is seen during the protest as WCCO photojournalist Dymanh Chhoun recorded his own reaction to being teargassed. Behind him, you can see the man with the umbrella.
Moments later, Chhoun was capturing images of looters when suddenly you can see the edge of the umbrella and the man holding it threatening him.
“I did remember I did listen to him. He did scare me,” said Chhoun.
“I think he is the only one who said something bad to me (during the riots),” Chhoun said, adding that “99.9 percent or 100 percent no one said anything to me except for him. He was the only one.”
Both the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and Minneapolis police say they cannot comment on the ongoing investigation.