Minnesota's Republican Party chairman is accusing protesters of racial intimidation after demonstrators disrupted a GOP dinner and displayed a sign invoking the Ku Klux Klan while the state's first Black female House speaker addressed the crowd.
Minnesota GOP Chair Alex Plechash blasted the demonstrators in a statement after Friday night's Lincoln Reagan Dinner in Eagan, where protesters held a sign reading "RepubliKKKan Party" during remarks by House Speaker and Republican gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth.
"Last night, radical protesters stormed the stage at our Lincoln Reagan Dinner and held up a KKK symbol while Speaker Lisa Demuth spoke," Plechash said in a statement posted to X by the Republican Party of Minnesota.
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"Let's be clear about what happened. Left leaning protesters aimed a symbol of racial terror at a Black woman leader, at a dinner named for the president who ended slavery," he continued.
Sunrise Movement Twin Cities, a progressive activist organization, claimed responsibility for the disruption and said the demonstration was intended to protest Republican policies it believes harm immigrants and marginalized communities, according to local news station KTSP.
"We disrupted this fundraiser because we refuse to give a moment's peace to the people bankrolling racial violence," the group said in a statement cited by the outlet.
The organization also said it was not affiliated with Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).
Video of the incident shows demonstrators moving toward the front of the room holding signs, including one with the letters "KKK" highlighted in red, according to outlet.
One protester could be heard shouting, "You love Trump and you will not stand up for Minnesotans," as Demuth stood on stage holding a microphone.
As security escorted the demonstrators away, attendees began chanting, "Lisa," followed by chants of, "USA."
Plechash told the outlet that protesters gained access to the dinner by purchasing tickets and passing through security checkpoints.
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The chairman said the event experienced two disruptions, the first during remarks by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya and the second while Demuth was speaking.
Plechash said roughly three or four protesters pushed toward the front of the room carrying banners during Demuth's remarks. He estimated the disruption lasted about 30 seconds and said he did not believe the demonstrators posed a physical threat.
Plechash said in his X post that Eagan police issued trespass orders and that potential charges remained under investigation.
The GOP chairman also called out Minnesota Democrats, specifically naming the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
"Intimidation, criminal behavior, and racist rhetoric have no place in Minnesota politics," Plechash wrote.
"Republicans debate ideas, and we'd welcome the DFL to show up and do the same," he added. "Every hour they stay silent says something. Their silence is deafening."
Demuth, who won Minnesota's Republican gubernatorial primary in August, will face off against Klobuchar, the Democratic nominee, in November's election to succeed Gov. Tim Walz.
