The local planned ‘No Kings’ anti-Trump protest went on after all in the wake of political shootings in Minnesota yesterday.
As noted below by John and Scott, Melissa Hortman, a former Speaker of the State House of Representatives and her husband were murdered in their home early Saturday morning. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were shot in their home a few miles away. Both survived. The gunman is still at large.
Despite the threat to the public, specifically to Democrats, the No Kings protest went on. The Minnesota Star Tribune reports,
Tens of thousands at ‘No Kings’ protests in Minnesota mourn violence targeting state politicians:
The State Patrol asked that people stay away from the rallies “out of an abundance of caution,” but thousands still turned out in the Twin Cities, Duluth and Rochester.
In fact, earlier on Saturday, local media had reported, incorrectly, that the protests had been cancelled, across the state.
As they say, the show must go on. The Star Tribune reports that up to 30,000 attended the St. Paul event, other outlets report 25,000. I was too well to go.
The Gov. and Lt. Gov. were scheduled to appear, but begged off, given the circumstances. In fact, the state’s top political leaders, across the board, discouraged attendance at the protests, with a murderer on the loose.
The one exception was the state Attorney General, Keith Ellison. God bless him. Ellison’s name reportedly appears on the alleged gunman’s alleged hit list.
Despite the explicit threat, Ellison kept the date and appeared before the throngs, inciting more political violence, calling Pres Trump a dictator.
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
As the state’s chief prosecutor, the attorney general may be called upon to play a role in any court case(s) arising from the shootings, should the gunman be caught alive.
Oh, well.
