A quick post about two items related to the Sedition Faction in the Minnesota House of Representatives in St. Paul. Readers learned about this subject in these posts earlier in the week:
- Minnesota House sedition faction reply to Protest and Dissent letter, defend attack on state voters
- Couldn't get to DC: Akland, Drazkowski, Franson, Gruenhagen and Lucero storm MN state capitol
- From the Journal of the House: Eight members protest & dissent those who signed Paxton letter
Our first item is a correction in the timeline of a strong article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
UPDATE 1/9/2021, 10:20 a.m.: We had not refreshed our copy of the Pioneer Press story, and so didn't catch that the timeline had been corrected. Our apologies to Dave Orrick, who had professionally and politely replied on twitter:
Good point. Story adjusted to note correct chronology. Thx.
— Dave Orrick (@DaveOrrick) January 9, 2021
Our bad. [end update]
Dave Orrick reports in MN Public Safety Commissioner Harrington cautions lawmakers about inflamed rhetoric after ‘insurrection’, and we have put the text in bold where a reader might think that the protest and dissent letter prompted the visit to state representative Rick Hansen's house:
Minnesota’s top law enforcement official has cautioned state lawmakers against using rhetoric that could incite violence against public officials, including their own colleagues.
The admonishment of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington was carefully worded in the form of a written memo to all lawmakers Thursday that initially discussed increased security at the Capitol in St. Paul.
But its target audience clearly included Republicans who have sought to encourage increasingly confrontational protests, including Wednesday’s local franchise of the deadly pro-Trump event that spawned the mob that overran and ransacked the U.S. Capitol in Washington — an event Harrington called an “unprecedented insurrection.”
On Jan. 2, demonstrators, some armed, gathered outside the homes of at least two Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party House members, and on Tuesday, as the mob was descending on the U.S. Capitol, a pro-Trump rally outside the state Capitol in St. Paul featured violent rhetoric from speakers. At least five Republican House members attended that rally, with some stoking calls for action.
Here’s a key part of Harrington’s memo from Thursday, a day after the D.C. mob action that was stoked by President Donald Trump, who has perpetuated a series of falsehoods about his November loss to President-elect Joe Biden:
“As we saw yesterday, words do matter. The calls to action by elected leaders can and have had substantial consequences and can change that safe environment in an instant. As (Martin Luther) King once said ‘In the end, we will remember not just the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.’ We all play a critical role in ensuring the continuation of safety at the Capitol and I encourage you to carefully consider the effect of our rhetoric. As leaders in our state, I think it is up to all of us to call out language or activity that endorses or encourages illegal or destructive behavior. We simply cannot stand by — and certainly not participate — while some choose to instigate violence or ignore law and order in our state and nation.
“We are also aware of protests targeting elected officials and state agency commissioners over the past months. Last weekend, we saw demonstrators appear at the homes of state representatives in different parts of the state. Some of these protesters were seen carrying handguns and long guns as they stood outside the residences. Groups have also communicated they plan to begin protesting local judges as well as state constitutional officers and state legislators. We have communicated with all chief law enforcement officers in the state to ensure they are aware of the increasing likelihood of this kind of activity and to let them know that the Department of Public Safety is tracking this activity.”
Harrington, a former St. Paul police chief and DFL state lawmaker who was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz, didn’t provide specifics on the previous incidents to which he was referring, and a spokesman declined to discuss specifics Friday, citing “security reasons.” At least one of the protests was outside the home of Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, who tweeted about the affair. Video of the event on social media showed scores of demonstrators with pro-Trump flags and signs. Their stated purpose was to protest coronavirus restrictions. Some of those attending wore combat fatigues and carried sidearms or combat-style rifles.
“Terrorism has many faces,” Mariani tweeted, in part. “Democracy is fragile.”
The protesters then traveled to the South St. Paul residence of state Rep. Rick Hansen. The Democrat was the lead signer of a letter of protest that eight DFL House members lodged against eight Republican House members who signed a letter of support for a failed Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn Biden’s victory. The Republicans claimed Minnesota’s election was “illegal” under an argument that courts have also rejected. The Democrats’ letter called the Texas lawsuit — brought by the state of Texas and supported by numerous Republican attorneys general, “seditious.”
UPDATE: The paragraph now reads:
The protesters then traveled to the South St. Paul residence of state Rep. Rick Hansen. That was days before the Democrat became the lead signer of a letter of protest that eight DFL House members lodged against eight Republican House members who signed a letter of support for a failed Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn Biden’s victory. The Republicans claimed Minnesota’s election was “illegal” under an argument that courts have also rejected. The Democrats’ letter called the Texas lawsuit — brought by the state of Texas and supported by numerous Republican attorneys general, “seditious.”
On Wednesday, some of those same lawmakers spoke at the pro-Trump “Storm the Capitol” event outside the state Capitol, including Reps. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa; Eric Lucero, R-Dayton; Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe; and Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, according to videos shared on social media posts and the Star-Tribune. state Rep. Susan Akland, R-St. Peter, also spoke.
On January 2, the protestors could not have known about the letter of protest, as the eight signers of the letter kept it close to chest until placing it in the Journal. They didn't send out a press release or contact any member of the press that we know of.
We learned about the Protest and Dissent letter after opening an email from the Minnesota House Chief Clerk's Office that we received at 8:57 p.m. Tuesday night and following this link in that email: https://www.house.leg.state.
Our late night January 5 post From the Journal of the House: Eight members protest & dissent those who signed Paxton letter went online at 11:32 p.m.
The next day, we were sent a signed PDF of the letter to add to the post.
Our theory of the pick of targetted houses is that the organizers sought committee heads homes in the same direction from the capitol, but we're not that close to Alley Waterbury, although we have written about her in the past.
Watching one of the livestreams of the "House Calls," we were deeply impressed by the participants' inability to make Rep. Mariani's last name sound like a pasta sauce and their repeated stumbling over the word "constituents" at both residence. Screaming that Rep. Hansen must have gone to Florida was another precious moment, recycling an outlandish rumor about Governor Walz's Thanksgiving.
Despite this criticism, we highly recommend readers check out MN Public Safety Commissioner Harrington cautions lawmakers about inflamed rhetoric after ‘insurrection’
Constituents scold Susan Akland
Readers know from Couldn't get to DC: Akland, Drazkowski, Franson, Gruenhagen and Lucero storm MN state capitol that the Sedition Faction and newly-sworn in state representative Susan Akland, R-St. Peter, were up with the Stop the Steal crowd at the capitol.
This was the rally where news of the storming and occupation of the United States Capitol was cheered by those in front of the Minnesota state capitol.
Judging from the letters to the editor in the Mankato Free Press on Saturday, her constituents were not impressed. Nor were those who served in the legislature before her.
Bill Horton of St. Peter writes in Akland also has blood on her hands:
Rep. Susan Akland, what in the world were you thinking when you agreed to speak at the “Storm the Capitol,” rally in St. Paul Wednesday, held in conjunction with the insurrection in Washington, D.C?
The seditious rhetoric in St. Paul was the same as it was in Washington. When the Minnesota crowd was informed of the actual storming of our United States Capitol, they cheered.
Like Donald Trump, Josh Hawley and Jim Hagedorn, there is now blood on your hands. You have shamed and dishonored your constituents. You should resign immediately.
In Akland participated in dangerous publicity stunt, Claude Brew of St. Peter writes:
The voters who elected Susan Akland to the Minnesota House of Representatives sent her there to do the people's business, not to participate in cheap, dangerous publicity stunts such as the "Storm the Capitol" rally.
The desecration of the U.S. Capitol on the day of this rally should teach all of us the dangers of using inflammatory words such as "storm" the Capitol.
In addition, for nurse Aklund to tell the gathered mob that she was "happy" to see them unmasked is irresponsible in any public official, especially one trained as a medical professional.
Aklund is unfit for the office to which she was elected and should resign.
In a letter published Friday, North Mankota resident and former state representative Clark Johnson, who held Akland's 19A seat from 2015-2018, wrote in Akland's out of touch:
The Star Tribune reported on Wednesday that Rep. Susan Akland, our newly-elected state representative from St. Peter, told the crowd of pro-Trump protesters at the Minnesota Capitol that she was happy they were not wearing masks.
She is a registered nurse who says that she is pro-life. It made me think of the countless health care workers who live and work in our district that have asked us all to wear masks to help preserve lives.
Akland is clearly out of touch with her peer nurses and in conflict with her own values. She is also deeply out of touch with the hopes and values of the people she is representing.
The anti-mask behavior reminds us of how Tim Miller emailed House colleagues, staff to incorrectly argue masks aren’t effective and Mary Franson's circle of conservative friends maskless private bar party. It takes a special sort of alternative reality/factsto gain membership in the Sedition Faction, but Akland seems motivated.
Over at KEYC-TV, the station reported in the ambigious (Akland, not Brand, attended the rally) headline, Brand calls for Akland’s resignation after attending ‘Storm the Capitol’ rally:
Jeff Brand, a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, is calling for the immediate resignation of incoming House member Susan Akland.
In a post on Facebook, Brand cited a Tweet by Star Tribune video journalist Mark Vancleave that highlighted GOP House members who were in attendance at the “Storm the Capitol” rally in St. Paul. . . .
Brand highlighted the language that was used at the rally where one unidentified speaker said “we are at the threshold of a Civil War — we need to purge. We need to pull the weeds.”
Brand lost to Akland by 111 votes on Election Night. The Mankato Free Press reported in Akland win over Brand confirmed by recount:
State Rep.-elect Susan Akland’s victory over Rep. Jeff Brand has been confirmed following a recount of more than 23,000 ballots cast in the Minnesota House District 19A, which includes North Mankato and St. Peter.
Brand, a first-term Democrat from St. Peter, trailed Akland by 111 votes following the initial count of the Nov. 3 election results. The recount he requested increased Akland’s vote total by three to 11,624 and boosted Brand’s tally by six to 11,516 — a 49% to 48.5% victory for the St. Peter Republican.
Brand conceded shortly after Secretary of State Steve Simon announced the results of the recount, the paper reported.
KEYC-TV included tweets by Star Tribune videographer Mark Vancleave:
“WE ARE AT THE THRESHOLD OF A CIVIL WAR...WE NEED TO PURGE. WE NEED TO PULL THE WEEDS.” Earlier today at the Minnesota Capitol. This rally featured several GOP house members as speakers including Reps. Mary Franson, Eric Lucero, Glenn Gruenhagen, Steve Drazkowski & Susan Akland. pic.twitter.com/4x3WWZlkSC
— Mark Vancleave 🎥+📰=🎉 (@MDVancleave) January 6, 2021
We'll keep an eye out for this developing story.
Image: Our friends at Rocks and Cows of Minnesota were a bit confused about whether Representative Green or Representative Hansen were visited, as this screenshot of a now deleted Facebook post demonstrates. We've seen both lawmkaers in the same committee room multiple times and can assure readers they are not the same person. Tweeted by editor on January 3.
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