SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Governor Kristi Noem was in Sioux Falls Monday, meeting with some of the victims of the rioting in the Empire Mall area.
“Our police were attacked. They were hit with rocks. Obscenities were screamed at them, and gestures. Property was destroyed. Business owners were victimized. Stores were looted and vandalized.”
Noem says these were not protestors that rioted, these are violent criminals.
Sunday started peacefully with protests downtown, but then something changed to the dark side when groups of people, many of them young, started congregating at the Mall.
Noem says she’s more than willing to talk with peaceful protestors who have concerns about what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis, but we’ve been talking for years.
“You know, we have been having this conversation about race and inequality for decades in this country, and a lot of politicians and public figures stand up and talk, and frankly, I’m more interested in what we can do,” The governor says she’s looking at ways to make the criminal justice system better.
