Minneapolis elected leaders worried about escalating interactions with activists
MINNEAPOLIS -- Mayor Frey and some Minneapolis City Councilmembers say recent engagement with activists and protestors has them concerned about safety and discourse with the community.
On Thursday, a vote to stop the demolition of the Roof Depot failed in the council chambers.
Neighbors say taking down the building will release massive amounts of arsenic into the air. They say people living in the area already have some of the highest levels of asthma and heart disease in the state.
After the failed vote, protestors began to shout and scream at councilmembers and approach the dais. The meeting had to go into recess and the protestors were removed before it continued.
During the shouting, an aide for Councilmember Michael Rainville says specific threats were made against Rainville's family. Councilmember Emily Koski joined Rainville in filing a police report against the protestors.
"You can't have democracy if you don't allow the democratic process to happen and if you have someone that is fearful for their lives or that of their families because of a vote that they took, that is wrong," said Mayor Jacob Frey.
Frey says he's received death threats "for quite some time" as mayor but has recently noticed a shift.
"I'll wake up in the morning, my wife will walk downstairs and all over the windows, it'll say, 'Kill the mayor. Kill the mayor.' Imagine what that feels like," Frey said. "This is not a Democrat or Republican, a progressive or a conservative message. No matter who is experiencing these kind of threats, we should be saying it's not okay."
Councilmember LaTrisha Vetaw says she's still collecting herself after a confrontation with an activist after Thursday's meeting.
Social media video shows DJ Howard approaching Vetaw, putting his phone in her face and recording her as he questions her vote on the issue.
The interaction starts tense and grows even more so until it seems to get physical.
"He followed me out of a restaurant with my lunch and drink in hand. And then jumped in front of me on the escalator and trapped me on the escalator with his phone shoved in my face," Vetaw said. "I couldn't even move, I was so scared. I just kept feeling my feet. I thought I was about to fall. And I was two stories high on the escalator. Just...it felt like I was in mid-air."
It's unclear what happened next. The video appears to show some type of physical interaction. Multiple members of Vetaw's staff and police tell him to back off. Howard claims Vetaw got physical with him, damaging his phone case in the process.
"He didn't think anything was wrong with what he did to us. He then, after I got off the escalator, he started running behind me. Following me. Screaming at me. Like I was nothing. And I was just trying to eat," Vetaw said with tears welling in her eyes. "I'm not the person who likes to be a victim. Like, I can handle myself. But this person was scary and screaming and his phone was like on my nose, he was shoving his phone on my nose."
Howard's lawyer says it's Vetaw who crossed the line.
"She grabbed the phone with one hand and pushed DJ with the other. This is an assault. Obviously, it's behind the pale to be using physical force in a political discussion," said Paul Bosman. "DJ did in fact go to Minneapolis police and make a complaint for assault against Vetaw. So now, it's up to the police to investigate. Should we be able to have discourse without this? Absolutely. Should we be able to have discourse without city council people physically assaulting people? Absolutely."
Vetaw says she has also filed a police report and requested a restraining order, something she never thought she'd have to do as a public servant.
"This rattles you but I'm not broke. It's going to take me a little time. Maybe some additional therapy sessions but I'll be ok. You do it because you love the people," she said.
"First amendment rights stop at the next person's nose. And when you start saying 'we will kill you and your family if you take a certain vote or taken a certain position,' no, no, no," said Frey. "That's not first amendment rights. That's a terroristic threat. Good people are not going to run for office if they have to tolerate this kind of garbage."
