Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Honors George Floyd, Mentions Memorial Day Only After Breitbart Inquiry

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D-MN) initially used Memorial Day morning to memorialize George Floyd before later posting about fallen U.S. service members after Breitbart News asked his office for comment.

Frey wrote Monday on X at 9:03 a.m. Central Time:

“Today, we remember George Floyd, who was murdered by a former Minneapolis police officer six years ago.

That moment changed our city forever.”

Frey continued:

“It forced Minneapolis to confront painful truths about race, policing, inequity, and trust — and demanded hard conversations and accountability.

Since Floyd’s murder, our city has been challenged not just to say we’ve changed, but to prove it.”

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Frey’s post came on Memorial Day, the federal holiday set aside to remember U.S. military personnel who died in service to the nation. Breitbart News asked Frey and his office for comment at 10:25 a.m. Central Time on his official X account’s prioritization of a George Floyd post over a Memorial Day message.

At 11:38 a.m., Frey posted a Memorial Day message, writing, “Memorial Day is a time to remember the brave service members who gave their lives for our country and the freedoms we enjoy today. We owe them — and the families who carry their memory forward — our deepest gratitude.”

At 11:41 a.m., Frey communications director Ally Peters responded to Breitbart News, “The mayor has also posted on his social accounts for Memorial Day. Thanks.”

Thus, the sequence showed Frey posting first about Floyd, then posting about Memorial Day after Breitbart News asked his office about his decision to post a Floyd tribute before a Memorial Day message.

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During Chauvin’s trial, Chief Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker testified that Floyd’s cause of death was listed as “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression,” while also testifying that heart disease and drugs were contributing factors. Baker said Floyd’s heart disease, history of hypertension, and the drugs in his system played a role; Floyd’s death certificate listed “arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease,” “fentanyl intoxication,” and “recent methamphetamine use” as contributing conditions. Baker also said the police encounter was the main reason for Floyd’s death.

After Floyd’s death, Frey faced pressure from protesters who demanded he commit to defunding the Minneapolis Police Department. When Frey told a crowd, “I do not support abolishing the Minneapolis Police Department,” protesters booed him and chanted for him to leave, with one demonstrator shouting, “get the fuck outta here.” Frey had said the department needed “structural reforms” and that a “systemic, racist system needs to be revamped,” but he refused to support abolishing the Minneapolis Police Department.

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