rioters police station minneapolis
© REUTERS/Carlos BarriaProtesters set fire to a police station in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US May 28, 2020.
Conservative firebrand Candace Owens has started a feud with Open Society Foundations, after accusing the George Soros-funded NGO of fueling the ongoing riots in Minneapolis.

Owens speculated that the fires and looting in Minneapolis was being carried out by activists linked to the billionaire, after noting that Police Chief Medaria Arradondo claimed the criminal activity was being instigated by people not native to the city.

"My guess: As he did with Antifa, Democrat George Soros has these thugs on payroll. He is funding the chaos via his Open Society Foundation," the conservative commentator tweeted.


The accusation clearly ruffled the NGO's feathers, which fired back a retort insisting that they do not condone violence and "do not pay people to protest." They also claimed that Owens was trying to "distract" from a case of "police brutality."

Unimpressed, Owens accused the group of "throwing money at black Americans to riot" and scolded the organization for spreading hate and dividing America.

"You got what you wanted in Minnesota. Your organization is a disgrace and Soros himself is absolute filth in my book," read one of her scathing responses.


Soros' Open Society Foundations has indeed provided cash to activists linked with the Black Lives Matter movement - although the organization has long maintained that they "don't fund protests, per se."

Protests erupted in Minneapolis after a brutal police arrest reportedly led to the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd. Although initial demonstrations were largely peaceful, Minneapolis has seen two nights of rioting. During a press conference on Thursday, the city's police chief said that "many of the people involved in the criminal conduct last night were not known Minneapolitans to them" and were "not recognized as being from the city."

A police precinct headquarters was set ablaze on Thursday night, after law enforcement abandoned their position. The Minnesota National Guard has been deployed to the area, purportedly to assist the city's fire department as they battle fires set by rioters. US President Donald Trump has warned that he could send in the military if order is not restored.