Minneapolis mayor denies making gang sign with community organizer

By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges denied on Friday a report by a local television station that she flashed a gang sign with a community organizer in a photograph taken during a recent get-out-the-vote event. Hodges was going door to door in North Minneapolis on Saturday for a local organization when she and community organizer Navell Gordon were photographed pointing at each other, said the mayor's spokeswoman Kate Brickman. Local ABC affiliate KSTP obtained the photo and reported that the mayor was making a gang sign with Gordon, a convicted felon. Brickman denied that claim on Friday. "Mayor Hodges was pointing at Mr. Gordon," Brickman said, adding that the office would not comment further. Gordon was convicted of selling and possessing drugs and illegal possession of a firearm and is on probation until 2016, the television station reported. "It was a diverse group, including people who have made mistakes in their past. The more supportive that we all can be of people who are making better choices now, the better off we all will be in the future," Hodges said in a statement. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Eric Beech)