Minnesota National Guard activated for first time since WWII amid political finger-pointing

Members of the National Guard secure the area during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African-American man George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - The full Minnesota National Guard was activated for the first time since World War Two after four nights of civil unrest that has spread to other U.S. cities following the death of a black man shown on video gasping for breath as a white Minneapolis policeman knelt on his neck.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the deployment was necessary because outside agitators were using protests over Monday's death of George Floyd to sow chaos and that he expected Saturday night's demonstrations to be the fiercest so far.