‘It Is Not, Generally Speaking, Unruly,’ MSNBC’s Ali Velshi Tells Viewers in Front of Burning Building

MSNBC reporter Ali Velshi assured viewers Thursday evening that a Minneapolis uprising was “not generally unruly,” even as a building behind him went up in flames.

“There are at least four fires I can see, and that’s just in this small radius,” Velshi said, before referring to the fire behind him. “Obviously some are very active. This one is very obviously spread to the buildings on either side of it, the liquor store and the shop to the left.”

He added, “The National Guard has been activated. They are not here. The police are not here. The police have been evacuated. The fire engines can’t get in here. There’s no ability to bring anybody in here to solve this problem. So I want to be clear in how I characterize this. This is mostly a protest. It is not generally speaking unruly.”

MSNBC anchor Craig Melvin suggested on Twitter that the network will be referring to the unrest as “protesting” rather than as “rioting.”

Minneapolis and St. Paul have been rocked by protests in response to George Floyd’s death in police custody. Officer Derek Chauvin on Friday was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with his death.

Watch above via MSNBC.