Photo via KingDemetrius Pendleton/Facebook, Mercado Media/Facebook
July 26, 2021, 12:57 pm
An alarming incident interrupted a press conference for Minnesota state Representative John Thompson early today in which a woman drove her SUV across the state Capitol lawn in order to get right up to the steps, where the conference was taking place, and fly a large Trump 2024 flag.
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Police were called, but the woman, who had multiple anti-Biden stickers adorning her vehicle, was allowed to stay in the car for an extended period of time without being manhandled or harmed for being uncooperative or considered a threat.
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Rep. Thompson was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives after he entered politics following the killing of Philando Castile by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez after Castile informed him that he was in possession of a legally owned firearm. The case has become yet another example of a Black man doing everything police say people need to do in order to remain safe around them yet being killed by a cop anyway.
White Trump supporters doing donuts on a state Capitol lawn, however, are treated a bit differently.
Local journalist and streamer KingDemetrius Pendleton caught reactions at the press release to the woman illegally driving up to the steps of the Capitol building while a Black woman was talking about police statements vs. witness statements. He was able to get a close-up shot of the woman as she stuck the Trump flag out the window and struggled a bit with people who tried to take it away from her before getting a view of her license plate, pro-Trump and anti-Biden stickers, as well as an NRA decal and “thin blue line” flag.
The sound of tires screeching can be heard at about the 15-minute mark. Security and press approach the car before everyone else is waved off by security, but the media has already been distracted from the conference, as well as the rest of the crowd as they express a clear nervousness about the intentions of the woman and whether she has guns or other weapons.
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As Pendleton approaches the Trump supporter again, she can be heard rambling on about “seven sins” and mentioning George Floyd before shouting “f— this Democratic motherf—ing state!”
At one point, according to local media, she had something striking to say on the matter of race.
“I am a white woman! There is only one race!”
Pendleton also posted a follow-up video showing nearly 40 minutes of the woman sitting in her car and talking to police officers while other cops surround the vehicle in a protective manner, facing outwards toward Pendleton and other Black journalists and bystanders. He comments many times on how Black folks who do illegal things, no matter how minor, never seem to be treated in the same manner.
According to reports, a mental health representative was eventually called to talk to her, which doesn’t happen in most cases in which someone is having a mental health crisis in public or in private when the police get involved. Another video by Mercado Media shows officers very gently helping her out of her car, taking her bag from her, and helping her over and into an unmarked police vehicle without handcuffs after close to two hours.
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The incident is now being held up as an example of the kind of harassment Black legislators face as well as an example of how police officers are indeed capable of de-escalation and treating mental health cases with gentleness and ensuring that no one is hurt—as long as it’s a white person causing the problem.
White woman drives across Capitol lawn toward group of mostly Black men, unfurls Trump flag, screams racisms, refuses to leave. Cops call entourage of mental health workers, coax her down. Looks like they do know how to de escalate. Wonder why?
Minnesota, today
https://t.co/xVVUXNVt5A
— ~ esperanza ~ (@TeachEsp) July 26, 2021
*First Published: July 26, 2021, 12:57 pm
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