"This Is Mostly A Protest": MSNBC’s Ali Velshi Says Riots Aren’t Unruly As Building Burns Behind Him

MSNBC journalist Ali Velshi claimed the Minneapolis riots were “not, generally speaking, unruly” Thursday as the building behind him was engulfed in flames.

Velshi was reporting live from Minnesota after protests turned to rioting in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Floyd, 46, died after being arrested by police for an alleged forgery. Video footage shows that one police officer stepped on Floyd’s neck for several minutes, despite the man crying for help and bystanders begging the officer to get off.

During the third day of increasingly unruly riots, Velshi began by claiming the scene “looked a lot calmer than yesterday” throughout much of the day. The journalist then said there were “four fires” burning nearby – with one directly behind him – before claiming that the riots were just peaceful protests.

“I want to be clear on how I characterize this,” Velshi said in front of a burning building. “This is mostly a protest. It is not, generally speaking, unruly but fires have been started and this crowd is relishing that.”

MSNBC reporter says “I want to be clear on how I characterize this. This is mostly a protest. It is not generally speaking unruly."

As a building burns in the background...
pic.twitter.com/KGrtpPsF3E

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 29, 2020

The network is not framing its reporting using the word “riots,” MSNBC host Craig Melvin tweeted Thursday.

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