Leaders of the Minnesota GOP say a protest planned for Monday evening outside the party’s headquarters represents an “intentional escalation” as the state grapples with the fallout of recent political violence.
The protest is planned for 5:30 p.m. outside the Republican Party of Minnesota’s headquarters in Edina. Organizers include the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, 50501, Anti-War Committee, Minnesota Workers United, Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, Climate Justice Committee, and Students for a Democratic Society.
These groups, “many of them longtime allies of the Democratic Party,” are “fanning the flames by organizing a rally outside our office,” said Minnesota GOP Chair Alex Plechash.
The protest was organized in response to the June 14 assassinations of Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the attempted assassinations of Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
Protest organizers, calling themselves People’s Action Coalition Against Trump, said on social media that they will gather outside the Minnesota GOP’s headquarters to “condemn the rise in violent right-wing extremism, fanned by the reactionary agenda of the Republican party and president Donald Trump.”
The Minnesota GOP said it has closed its offices for the day and directed staff to work remotely out of an abundance of caution. The party also expressed concern for neighboring tenants, which include counseling and medical offices.
“Our building isn’t a political battleground—it’s a shared community space. Children and patients will be directly affected by this protest. That’s unacceptable,” Plechash said. “The silence from Governor Walz and the DFL Party is unacceptable. We call on them to condemn this protest and the inflammatory rhetoric fueling it.”
The party said in a press release that it “has made repeated efforts to engage with the DFL in a show of bipartisan unity and to work together in lowering the temperature—efforts that have been rejected or ignored.”
“We will continue to stand against political violence, no matter where it comes from,” Plechash added. “We will lead with civility and invite our colleagues across the aisle to do the same. But we won’t be silent while progressive activists target our staff, disrupt our neighbors, and bring dangerous rhetoric to our doorstep.”
Alpha News reached out to the Minnesota DFL for comment but did not receive a response.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
