Owner of Minneapolis eatery damaged in George Floyd protests: ‘Let my building burn’

The owner of a local Minneapolis restaurant that caught fire during protests over the death of George Floyd doesn’t care about the damage so long as justice is served, his daughter said Friday.

Flames broke out at Gandhi Mahal restaurant as demonstrators raged Thursday night — but when owner Ruhel Arshad heard the news, he responded that he stands in solidarity with the protesters, his daughter Hafsa wrote in a post on the Indian restaurant’s Facebook page.

Despite the eatery being damaged, Hafsa said she could hear her father on the phone declaring, “let my building burn, justice needs to be served, put those officers in jail.”

“Gandhi Mahal May have felt the flames last night, but our firey (sic) drive to help protect and stand with our community will never die! Peace be with everyone. #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd #BLM,” Hafsa added.

By Friday afternoon, the post had been liked more than 15,000 times.

Protests erupted across the country this week after a white Minneapolis police officer was captured on video pinning Floyd, who was black, to the ground by the neck before his death, even as Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.”