Supporters of two Democratic candidates for Minneapolis city council are facing expulsion from the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party after a fight broke out at an endorsing convention Saturday, the party chairman says.
During a convention to nominate candidates for a city council seat, supporters of Minneapolis Council Member Aisha Chughtai took the stage as she was about to begin her convention speech, USAToday reported. Video posted on social media shows supporters of Chughtai’s opponent, Nasri Warsame, charge forward at Chughtai’s supporters as they slowly file onto the stage in yellow, voicing their displeasure with the latter candidate.
What began as a shouting match allegedly turned into a brawl, sending at least one person to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, the outlet reported.
Brawl breaks out at Minneapolis City Council event
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Minnesota DFL party chair Ken Martin said video evidence made it “clear” the brawl was “instigated by supporters of city council candidate Nasri Warsame,” according to a May 13 press release.
“Harassment and violence are unacceptable, and we expect candidates and their campaign teams to work hard to curb such behavior when it comes from their supporters, staffers, or volunteers. Warsame and his team took the opposite approach at today’s convention by escalating the situation and encouraging conflict. Reprehensible behavior like this from any DFL Party candidate and campaign will not be tolerated,” Martin continued.
The brawl resulted in a suspension of the convention with no nominee chosen for the upcoming election, a situation Convention Chair Sam Doten called “embarrassing,” the Associated Press (AP) reported. (RELATED: Not One Student Proficient In Math In 10 Minneapolis, St. Paul Public Schools: REPORT)
“Physical intimidation, threats, and harassment have no place in our democracy or our politics — not at conventions, not at city council meetings,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey echoed on Twitter.
Martin announced Sunday he would be calling an emergency meeting of the State Executive Committee to propose a bylaw that would ban individuals who engage in violent assaults from the DFL party. He further said he would take “immediate action” to remove those involved in the brawl.