Incoming state GOP representative compares vaccine mandates to slavery
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Incoming State Rep. Walter Hudson made comments over the weekend comparing mask and vaccine mandates to slavery.
Hudson, a Republican who was elected to represent District 30A, was on a panel at a Masks Off Minnesota event in Bloomington when he made the comments.
"The plantation owner who said 'I need cotton and you're going to pick it' is morally equivalent to the person today who says 'I don't want to get sick so you have to take the jab,'" he said.
He commented on how Gov. Tim Walz's COVID-19 policies polled well, and said "I don't care about polls - you know what else polled well at the time? Chattel slavery." He added that Jim Crow and Japanese-American internment also polled well at the time.
Former gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen was also at the event and said he was "encouraged" by Hudson's comments.
Since he made his statements, Hudson has come under fire on social media, but has doubled down on his beliefs.
DFL Party Chair Ken Martin shot back at Hudson on Twitter, saying that "The MNGOP and GOP continue to double down on crazy conspiracy theories, misinformation, and in this case fabricated false-equivalencies."
Hudson's district encompasses St. Michael, Albertville, Hanover, Otsego, and Rockford Township. He won his election by more than 25 points.