Walter Hudson, a Republican Minnesota state representative from Albertville, joined Liz Collin on her podcast to speak out on failed leadership and how “lies about public safety” have continued to put police officers in danger.
Last week, Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell became the fifth first responder in Minnesota to be murdered in just a little over a year — the 10th in this region.
The Minneapolis Police Department has lost nearly 40 % of its police force in the last four years. Sources have confirmed to Alpha News that Officer Mitchell was working alone in a squad car, on his mandatory overtime shift when he was killed.
How can ‘systemic racism’ explain the murder of a black officer by a black suspect?
Alpha News and Crime Watch Minneapolis were the first to name the suspect, Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed. Mitchell was gunned down rushing to Mohamed’s aid, believing he was a victim.
“The environment that’s been created for law enforcement, certainly in the state of Minnesota, but I think nationally as well, has been one that is nothing short of dangerous for those who choose to place themselves between the average citizen, the average resident, our families, and harm’s way,” Hudson said.
“They’ve said there’s something systematically wrong with policing as a profession, that it’s inherently racist, that it’s inherently white supremacist, regardless of the color of the officer, they’ll often tell us that there’s something innate to the process of enforcing the law that is fundamentally wrong,” Hudson added.
He says that narrative then “fosters in the hearts and minds of the people on the street that they don’t have to respect the badge.”
“The secondary factor that plays into the dangerous environment that law enforcement finds itself in … is the fact that everybody on both sides of the blue line knows that nothing is going to be done about a lot of these crimes,” Hudson said.
Rep. Hudson: Gov. Tim Walz is ‘a masterful liar’
In the wake of Officer Mitchell’s murder, Rep. Hudson called Gov. Walz “a masterful liar.”
“He is the top tier of public officials that I’ve ever seen to be able to seamlessly and convincingly lie. I see him do it all the time and this is just another example,” he said.
As an example, Hudson points to a tweet that Gov. Walz put up just hours after the shooting.
Tonight a family got the worst news of their lives. 28-year-old Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell was killed in an act of gun violence while responding to an emergency call.
Our entire state is mourning as Minneapolis reels from this tragedy.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) May 31, 2024
Rep. Hudson discussed how Walz also said, “something to the effect of, ‘Our prayers are with the families that we want to come together with the community of Minnesota at this time. This poor officer was slain in an act of gun violence.’ Just those three words, an act of gun violence, five words, just those few words, thread the message, the lie,” Hudson explained.
“We need to restore the culture of respect and dignity for law enforcement. We need to restore fear in the hearts of criminals that their actions will come with meaningful consequences that will ruin their lives because that’s the only thing they’re going to respect,” Hudson said.
Media failures and a lack of journalism
He also criticized the media for failing to connect the dots and find the truth.
“The media’s capacity to skate by, by simply just uploading the press conference or copying and pasting the press release and just echoing the talking points, to the extent that they do any sort of journalistic aggregation of facts, they’re merely copying and pasting or repeating what they’ve been fed by a bureaucrat … that’s not journalism. It’s something — but it’s not journalism,” Hudson explained.
As for the current state of affairs in Minneapolis, Hudson mentioned he spent some time in north Minneapolis over the weekend.
“I can’t imagine looking at the reality on the ground and being able to feel satisfied with yourself that you’ve done the right thing and that your mission has been accomplished,” he said.
After meeting with residents working to clean up their neighborhood, Hudson said less than an hour later there was a homicide about a block away.
Politics distorts reality into narrative. Saturday afternoon, I visited activists stationed at 36th and Penn along with Public Safety Lead Paul Novotny to hear untold stories and undervalued perspectives.
While we were there, there was an open air drug market ongoing behind us.… https://t.co/CpOepzPgIG pic.twitter.com/mBwtGv86XA
— Walter Hudson (@WalterHudson) June 2, 2024
Rep. Hudson believes some politicians no longer care about the public and the police
“It’s stunning to me that the people you have, people like Mary Moriarty. Moriarty has a direct impact upon that environment. Her decision to not prosecute the sort of criminal who did that, who killed a man in broad daylight. Her unwillingness to hold that person accountable, not the gun, not white supremacy, not systemic racism, but the person, her decision to prioritize politics over justice is the reason why people die literally in the streets in broad daylight in Minneapolis,” he said.
“It’s not just the cops who have been left behind in Minneapolis. It’s the people. There is an oligarchy that is in charge of not just the city of Minneapolis, but the state of Minnesota that only cares about the politics that keeps them in power. That is it. That is all they care about. They do not actually care about the real world effect that their policies have on the actual lives of human beings,” Hudson added.
Liz Collin
Liz Collin has been a truth-teller for 20 years as a multi-Emmy-Award-winning reporter and anchor. Liz is a Worthington, Minnesota native who lives in the suburbs with her husband, son and loyal lab.
