DFL apologizes after fight breaks out at Minneapolis endorsement convention [View all]
Last edited Sun May 14, 2023, 12:46 PM - Edit history (9)
LBN thread (edit: later locked): https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143074081
It might get locked in LBN as not important news of NATIONAL interest, but I think it is a big deal. And very bad news.
edited to add after the thread got locked I still think it is a big deal with a convention taken over through violence, even if its just one ward's. I found the video extremely very appalling. I'm extremely very sorry to those who disagree, and think that this is just the equivalent of a fist fight or whatever the "no big deal" people are thinking. There is just way too much political violence at school board elections, election boards, city councils, candidates and election officials and so on being forced to withdraw or resign for fear of their and their families lives, or just not run in the first place. WAY TOO MUCH INTIMIDATION. WAY TOO MUCH VIOLENCE. 
I suspect that if it happened on the other side, we'd be making an enormous hoo hah about it and gleefully running it up Greatest Threads.
I wonder if it had been a local city council race somewhere else where it was between Democrats and Repukes, and had the Repukes taken over, and only a couple of injuries because the Dems had retreated, would we still consider it a nothing burger? We think not.
I'm adding below what was in the locked LBN thread.
According to the Minneapolis Police Department, officers arrived at the Ella Baker Center shortly after 2 p.m. to a large crowd and heard reports of people fighting, but says it did not observe any physical altercations. (By then it was over and most of the Chughtai people had been forced out of the room. Had they stood their ground, there would have been one hell of a lot of physical altercations -progree)
A video shows the fight breaking out as Councilmember Aisha Chughtai takes the stage. The convention was immediately adjourned due to safety concerns. (That too succinct description leaves out that the entire Chughtai delegation was forced off the stage and most and their supporters forced out of the room. It was NOT "immediately" -progree)
In a statement released late Saturday night, the DFL said that "it is clear that the conflict was instigated by supporters of city council candidate Narsi Warsame." (It's Nasri, not Narsi, BTW -progree)
Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/minnesota/news/minneapolis-ward-10-convention-fight-dfl/
Edited to add The story at the link has changed and been updated, and the video segment of the Warsame crowd forcing offstage and out of the room of virtually the entire Chughtai delegation and supporters has been shortened. But anyway, I'm happy to see these not so blaise' responses (but of course I realize some will call them snowflakes
) :
"Harassment and violence are unacceptable, and we expect candidates and their campaign teams to work hard to curb such behavior when it comes from their supporters, staffers, or volunteers," Martin said. "Warsame and his team took the opposite approach at today's convention by escalating the situation and encouraging conflict."
Martin also said he would call an emergency meeting of the State Executive Committee to address the incident and "take immediate action to remove the folks involved in Ward 10." ("emergency meeting?" Wow, why the drama? some would say -progree)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also issued a statement on Twitter.
The behavior we saw at yesterday's Ward 10 convention was not okay. Physical intimidation, threats, and harassment have no place in our democracy or our politics — not at conventions, not at city council meetings.
For anyone wanting to read the responses at the tweet, here it is (maybe some insights on what happened and why, but so far I've seen more heat than light) :
Link to tweet
= new reply since forum marked as read