The City Pages' Andy Mannix has jumped on the news first broken by the Mille Lacs Messenger about the minor alcohol consumption at a bonfire party held in a field near the home of the Mille Lacs County Attorney and her husband, an investigator for the tribal police of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
Mannix reports in Teen hospitalized with .21 BAC after partying at County Attorney Jan Jude's property that the county attorney has issued a statement claiming she had no knowledge of the events on her property:
Called for comment, Jude sent City Pages the following statement:
It has been reported that a juvenile exhibiting signs of alcohol consumption was on my property during a graduation party for my daughter. It has also been reported that there are other minors have said they consumed alcohol on my property. I had no knowledge of any of these events occurring on my property until these reports were brought to my attention. It is my understanding that an independent investigation has been initiated. It is my hope that this investigation will reveal all of the facts about what actually occurred and, perhaps more importantly, who provided alcohol to any minors who consumed alcohol on that date. I completely support the investigation and will fully cooperate.
Curiously, neither story in the Mille Lacs Messenger reports that the graduation party was for her daughter. This makes us hope that the attorney clarifies her answer: Was this a graduation party for her daughter? If so, did she know about it? Were the underage drinking and the consequences the "events" she didn't know about? Were she and her husband home?
Curious stuff. It would seem deeply odd for the graduating seniors to have a bonfire without permission in a field owned by the county attorney and her law enforcement investigator husband--and park near the house--unless the adults (or the whole family) was away from home. Or perhaps she didn't know about "the events" under investigation.
Jude has posted a graduation photo of herself, her husband and a daughter graduating from high school on Facebook, so the daughter did indeed graduate.
As Mille Lacs County has no social host ordinance, it's unlikely that Jude will face any legal consequences.
Photo: The Judes at the daughter's recent high school graduation, via Facebook. Was there a graduation party for the daughter on the property on the night the authorities were called? If there was a graduation party, did the parents know about it? Or was the party on the land just one of those random events?
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