US Politics
Democrats told House reps not to go to Minnesota over security fears: report
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House Democrats have been advised by their party against traveling to Minnesota to protest Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, according to a report.
A senior staffer to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent out an email to Democratic congressional offices dated Monday urging representatives not to head the North Star State and remain in their districts instead, Axios reports, having obtained a copy of the message.
“In speaking with the [Minnesota] delegation offices and the governor’s team it has become clear that the best thing for members to do right now is to support their MN colleagues by participating in the Days of Action in their home district this week,” the staffer wrote.
“Visiting the state right now, although well intentioned, puts a burden on local resources and does not support our colleagues, the city and state government, local law enforcement and most importantly the people of Minneapolis.”
An unnamed House Democrat confirmed the authenticity of the email to Axios and said its advice had also been shared through informal channels of communication.
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“Minnesota elected officials cautioned members from going as it could add strain and overwhelm local law enforcement,” they said.
Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock has travelled to Minnesota this month in solidarity with the demonstrators braving sub-zero temperatures to speak out over the killings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as have New York congressional candidates Brad Lander and Micah Lasher.
On Wednesday, California Rep. Ro Khanna posted a video of himself in Minneapolis on X (Twitter) with the comment: “I’m tired of people just tweeting.
“We need action and to be with people in the streets. I went to stand with Minnesotans and to listen to people in their own words after an ICE agent killed Alex Pretti.”
Pretti was in fact shot dead by Customs and Border Protection agents, not ICE.
A version of the same security argument put forward by Jeffries’ office was also made by Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, newly dispatched to Minneapolis to restore order to Operation Metro Surge after Pretti’s killing inspired uproar.
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Homan warned at a press conference Thursday morning that unruly demonstrations only served to place further strain on local law enforcement.
Jeffries’ concern for his representatives’ safety was seemingly borne out on Tuesday, a day after the email was sent, when Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked by a man at her town hall event in Minneapolis, who sprayed her with a syringe before being restrained by security and taken into custody.
Omar, a hate figure to conservatives, was unharmed in the incident, with the liquid in question turning out to be nothing worse than apple cider vinegar. She has since hit out at Trump for inciting hostility against her, with the president speaking out against at rally hours before the attack.
In another incident Friday, Florida Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, also a Democrat, was assaulted at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
