MARSHALL — Shortly after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order Thursday to activate the state’s National Guard to control the crowds and maintain peace, two local legislators spoke about the recent horrific events playing out in Minneapolis.

“I think it probably should have happened a couple of nights ago,” Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R- Ghent, said reacting to the governor’s executive order. “Gov. Walz’s quote was something along the lines of, ‘We need to let people express themselves’. I doubt that he had that in mind of what happened and there are a lot of broken lives.”

Swedzinski said the actions of enforcing the National Guard should have happened sooner and it’s a scary and unfortunate situation unfolding in the metro.

Swedzinki and State Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls, ended their town hall on Marshall radio station KMHL when they held a Zoom meeting with the Marshall Independent.

Dahms said the cities closed the senate office building at the Capitol on Thursday and evacuated the premises as protestors made their way into St. Paul.

“They closed the senate office building down because the protestors were going to march on the Capitol, and there was talk of closing the state office building at the same time they were closing the senate office building,” Dahms said. “They asked everybody to evacuate and leave the premises, which they did. They were concerned that the Capitol, state and senate office buildings were the targets of the protestors. It’s a very unfortunate deal and it’s very tough to watch and whatever comes out of this, justice needs to be served.”

Swedzinski also expressed his reaction to the video showing Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck.

“I’ve watched portions of that video and it’s tough to watch and it’s upsetting no matter what side of the aisle you’re on, seeing a video like that and seeing someone treated like that,” he said. “I understand why people are frustrated and at the end of the day, it’s a mad situation all around.”