Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was at the center of the country’s most dire protests in years. Following the police killing on May 25 of George Floyd, an unarmed black man arrested for apparently trying to make a purchase with a counterfeit bill, thousands of people looted and burned buildings in Minneapolis and St. Paul. On the heels of those riots, protests broke out in major cities across the country, including New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago, as well as the suburbs.

Frey, a Jewish former city councilmember, is two years into his tenure as mayor, and has captured national attention for forcefully calling for an end of the destructive protests. He said he understood the protesters’ “pain and anger,” and supported deployment of state police and National Guard troops to quell the uprising. “We need to look out for our city,” he said.