UPDATE #2: In Part two: Jeremy Munson joined Liberate MN protest early birds at Governor's residence we shared a photo (below) that places Munson at the governor's residence with some early arrivals at the April 17 Liberate Minnesota protest:
Munson is the fellow in the yellow t-shirt over a black long-sleeved shirt, under the large American flag in the foreground left. [end update #2]
UPDATE & CORRECTION: While Munson misrepresents his presence at the governor's residence as "This one was in support of healthcare workers who were laid off due to walz's shutdown of clinics," that's not what the rally was about--it was indeed the Liberate Minnesota rally.
However, he was indeed on the floor of the House at noon, when the rally began.
When was the photo taken?
Very far down the comment thread on the Facebook, we find an edited comment that establishes when the photo was taken:
In the post itself (image at top), Munson doesn't indicate that the photo was taken at 9 AM, but states "We are starting to assemble>"
The thread on the post includes 364 comments, including some with time stamps that make it clear they were made by Munson while he was in on the floor of the House. He does not--as far as we can read--indicate that he is not at the rally but on the floor of the House at the time he replies.
We apologize for thinking he was at the Liberate Minnesota rally while it was ongoing, rather than when organizers were gathering. It is clear, however, that he was at the residence with one of the Liberate Minnesota rally organizers, not healthcare workers.
Munson supporters making comments also appeared to believe he was at the rally, though that's no excuse for us not reading them all. The picture was taken three hours before the floor session, according to his comment.
It is easy to see, however, why reasonable people reading the Facebook post--whether Munson fans or foes--might believe he was at the protest, given his own comments at the time the protest was taking place.
Here's the Minnesota House Information Service YouTube of the floor session. Note that regards of party, those speaking on the floor of the House didn't wear masks while doing it.
We apologize for the error about Jeremy Munson being at the protest, while Representative Munson was clearly at the floor session.
We do not apologize for calling the Liberate Minnesota event what it was. Here's Munson's explanation for his Friday tweets characterizing the event as a rally for healthcare workers:
As with many rallies, they are a compilation of many smaller groups. I was contacted by several nurses and medical staff asking to come to speak and support them. This was when over 10,000 healthcare workers were deemed unessential. I did meet with some after the protest.
— Jeremy Munson (@jeremymunson) January 16, 2021
There's an exchange about one of the news sources used below:
There I am, in suit and tie at noon. Lower left corner, in my chair. I support reopening MN, but I wasn't there for the actual protest. The @Mankatonews also ran an attack piece about me, based on @bringmethenews but they care little about facts. pic.twitter.com/vYLRGUXj1l
— Jeremy Munson (@jeremymunson) January 16, 2021
We're leaving the original post below intact. [end correction]
We recommend reading Michael Brodkorb's opinion piece at the Minnesota Reformer, Former Minnesota GOP operative: It’s time to rid the party of dangerous crackpots, in conjunction with Niko Georgiades' April piece for Unicorn Riot, Who’s Calling to ‘Liberate Minnesota’, and Why.
The former's discussion of April's Liberate Minnesota protest at the Minnesota governor's residence mentions two former Republican electeds' presence at the rally but no current Republican lawmakers, while Georgiades points out:
The protest featured a few local politicians including Minnesota Libertarian Party Chairman Chris Holbrook, former 2nd District Congressman Jason Lewis (who is challenging U.S. Senator Tina Smith in November), and State Representative Jeremy Munson (R-Lake Crystal). Munson is part of the New House Republican Caucus, a faction of the Republican Party. Munson has been a vocal opponent to Gov Walz’s Stay At Home executive order and posted a Facebook picture posing with one of the rally organizers, Don Huizenga.
Elements of more hardcore right-wing organizations were in attendance, including several III Percenter Militia members, Oathkeepers, and a man who professed to be a member of the far-right ‘western chauvinist’ Proud Boys, who have been active in these cross-country actions. But most of the crowd was a mix of capitalists looking to get back to work.
Judging from an interaction on twitter with diabetes warrior mom Lija Greenseid on Friday, we're wondering if the New Republican is hoping Minnesotans don't look beyond Brodkorb's article.
After a discussion Munson frames as meeting with constituents involved in protests, Greenseid asks in a tweet:
Glad to hear that. Can you confirm that this is a photo of you outside the governor's mansion during the "Liberate MN" rally this summer? What message were you trying to communicate with your t-shirt? pic.twitter.com/ro2KfKMjZG
— Lija Greenseid, PhD 😷 (@Lija27) January 15, 2021
Munson replies:
I attended three rallies at the Governor's mansion. This one was in support of healthcare workers who were laid off due to walz's shutdown of clinics. I wasn't present for the protest, I met with the organizers while they were setting up and was on the House floor by noon.
His tweet:
I attended three rallies at the Governor's mansion. This one was in support of healthcare workers who were laid off due to walz's shutdown of clinics. I wasn't present for the protest, I met with the organizers while they were setting up and was on the House floor by noon.
— Jeremy Munson (@jeremymunson) January 15, 2021
Greenseid replies:
From your official Facebook page, photo is from April 17th the day Trump tweeted to "LIBERATE MN" and many gathered at the Governor's mansion in response carrying white supremacist and Qanon messages. pic.twitter.com/8S8qnNG6G2
— Lija Greenseid, PhD 😷 (@Lija27) January 15, 2021
Boss Lady has couple of responses
Huh, that’s not what news reports say. https://t.co/GQwHY3IHeD
— Boss Lady 🇺🇸 (@bosslady952) January 15, 2021
You also posted Trump’s tweet to “Liberate MN” on Facebook. But tell us again how you weren’t part of this protest. pic.twitter.com/MdvqvRfqP5
— Boss Lady 🇺🇸 (@bosslady952) January 15, 2021
Should any of Munson's tweets be deleted or otherwise disappear, we have saved screenshots.
Who's the other guy in the photo?
As for Don Huizenga, he's the author of a couple of posts in the Man Cave of the apparently moribund conservative website, Deplorable Housewives of the Midwest. He was a 2020 National Republican Convention delegate
He announced but withdrew from the 2016 Minnesota Senate District 35 special election prompted by the resignation of Branden Petersen.
A 2014 article in the ABC suburban newspaper chain included this biographical sketch:
Huizenga has been an active participant in local politics and school district issues for more than a decade. He ran for the House in 2008, when he lost in a primary battle against Abeler. He is the current vice chairperson of the District Executive Committee and has championed positive changes within the Republican party. He is a current and past Republican State Central delegate, Congressional district delegate, Senate district delegate and precinct chairperson and was ahead in voting for delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2012, ahead of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, but conceded his spot to Bachmann out of respect for her service.
Huizenga . . . has been an active community volunteer for many years, working with the Tax Payers League, Legacy Christian Academy, The Minnesota Voters Alliance, the Anoka Area Chamber of Commerce, the NW Metro Tea Party, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Minnesota and many other political and philanthropic organizations. . . .
Huizenga does not appear to be a party officer in the Republican Party's Senate District 35.
Related posts:
- MN Reformer: Minnesota House Speaker’s office says BCA, Public Safety department leading investigation into St. Paul rally
- Emily Gruenhagen missed something about that Storm The Capitol rally in St. Paul
- Unmasked, part 3: Minneapolis Star Tribune fills in Storm the Capitol context for Susan Akland
- Digest: Murdock Asatru Folk Assembly news in West Central Tribune and New York Times
- Unmasked, part 2: letters condemning Akland's Storm the Capitol speech poured into Free Press
- Unmasked: Susan Akland's non-apology apology about storming the Minnesota state capitol
- Correcting the timeline on a report about Stop The Steal; Akland constituents talk back
- Tim Miller emails House colleagues, staff to incorrectly argue masks aren’t effective
- Minnesota House sedition faction reply to Protest and Dissent letter, defend attack on state voters
- Couldn't get to DC: Akland, Drazkowski, Franson, Gruenhagen, Lucero & Munson storm MN state capitol
- From the Journal of the House: Eight members protest & dissent those who signed Paxton letter
Screengrab: From the twitter conversation between Munson, Greenseid and Boss Lady.
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