BY ED FELIEN
Thanks for being there.
Former Police Chief Arradondo and Mayor Frey weren’t at the Third Precinct when it burned in 2020, but you were there last month at Lake and Bloomington to personally stand between angry demonstrators and armored troops, some wearing ICE badges, and to escort the federalized military out of the area.
That took some guts.
Congratulations.
Mayor Frey wasn’t there.
But State Senator Omar Fateh was there, like you, monitoring the situation. He’s the DSA endorsed candidate running against Frey in November when the citizens of Minneapolis will elect their new mayor—your new boss.
I think you’re doing a great job in preserving the peace, but I think you need a lot more people backing you up.
I sent this to the Mayor and City Council Members:
“Attention Mayor and Members of the Minneapolis City Council:
“The City must ask Attorney General Keith Ellison to get a federal injunction prohibiting U S Marshalls and ICE from entering the City in military formation without the express permission of the Mayor. Direct and immediate action is our best hope in preventing Trump from staging a military occupation and coup in Minneapolis. Members of the military and law enforcement officers must be informed that any violation of this federal court order would be a felony and punishable by a term in prison.”
Federal forces must act in cooperation with local law enforcement officers. That means they have to check in with you. That means they must have verifiable warrants for specific suspected criminals. That means, based on their past history of violating the basic civil rights of the people of Minneapolis, you must dispatch MPD officers to accompany these federal officers to insure the peace of our community is not unduly disturbed.
And more than anything else, that means you will not allow federal forces to deny to all the people of Minneapolis their basic Constitutional right to due process.
We believe you meant it when you swore to Protect and Serve all the people of Minneapolis.
And that’s why we love you.
