Rep. John Thompson was racially profiled, supporters say, now a target for speaking out

Jul. 15—Attention to St. Paul lawmaker John Thompson's recent traffic stop has escalated to harassment of a Black elected official because he's one of the most outspoken voices against police brutality, his supporters said Wednesday.

They said they agreed with Thompson's assessment that he was racially profiled when a St. Paul police sergeant pulled him over for driving without a front license plate and cited him for driving after his Minnesota driving privileges were suspended.

Since Thompson's July 4 traffic stop, he's faced criticism from the chairman of his own Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, the state's police association called on Wisconsin to conduct a potential perjury investigation, and now political opponents are using the situation for fundraising.

"Rep. Thompson has unfortunately become a lightning rod because of his position and fight for police accountability even as people in law enforcement, both political parties and other people involved in special interest groups have attempted to smear his reputation and take the focus away from the major issues and their lack of work in the area of police reform," said Johnathon McClellan, Minnesota Justice Coalition president, who was among community leaders who spoke at a Wednesday news conference in support of Thompson.

St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell has said the traffic stop was not race-related, rather part of a special traffic safety detail working in the early morning hours of a holiday weekend.

Thompson presented a Wisconsin driver's license during the traffic stop, which has led to questions about the legality of him having an out-of-state license as a Minnesota elected official. He said in a Monday statement that he has lived and worked in St. Paul for many years.

When Thompson filed for the candidacy of House seat 67A, St. Paul's East Side, an address in the district was written and then scratched out, with a box checked stating that his address is private for personal safety reasons.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, who leads the Racial Justice Network, said Wednesday that if she were Thompson, she also wouldn't give out her address. She said he's been "viciously attacked" by threats since a demonstration outside then-Minneapolis police union president Bob Kroll's home in Hugo last summer.

Thompson, referring to police responding to a call about George Floyd allegedly using a fake $20 bill, said into a microphone on Kroll's street: "This whole (expletive) state burned down for 20 (expletive) dollars. You think we give a (expletive) about burning Hugo down?"

RACIAL PROFILING PLAYED A ROLE, SUPPORTERS SAY

People on Wednesday also turned their attention to Axtell's comments on Friday about the traffic stop.

Thompson was speaking publicly at a memorial on July 6 that marked five years since his friend, Philando Castile, was fatally shot by a St. Anthony police officer during a traffic stop, when he said, "You can still get driving-while-Black tickets in the state — as a matter of fact, in St. Paul. Let's just call this what it is."

Axtell said he didn't take the accusation lightly, so he watched body camera footage of the July 4 traffic stop in downtown St. Paul and spoke to the sergeant involved.

"This stop, made at about 1:20 in the morning, had absolutely nothing to do with the driver's race," Axtell wrote Friday on Facebook. "What it did involve was a public servant doing what the community asks of him."

Axtell called on Thompson to apologize to the sergeant. On Wednesday, Toshira Garraway, founder of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, said it's St. Paul police who owe an apology — to the families of people who've been killed by officers.

Levy Armstrong also said Axtell "knows that there is systemic racism" in the police department, so "to scoff at the fact that racial profiling played a role is absolutely ridiculous."

"Someone shouldn't have to walk up and say, 'I pulled you over because you were Black' in order for us to draw inferences and to know that that's the reason they were pulled over in the first place," she said.

Black drivers comprised 43 percent of traffic stops by St. Paul police last year, while the city's population is about 16 percent Black, according to police department data.

GOP USES THOMPSON TO RAISE MONEY

Ken Martin, chair of the DFL Party, said in a Sunday statement that he was "disappointed by (Thompson's) recent actions."

Meanwhile, Republican political officials used Thompson as a foe that might trigger their base to donate money to their cause.

"We should not forget that Rep. John Thompson has a history of using race-based political rhetoric to slither his way out of trouble," reads a Wednesday fundraising email from the Republican Party of Minnesota, referring to Thompson's tirade at the Hugo demonstration.

A Republican would face extremely long odds unseating Thompson — or defeating any DFLer — in the overwhelmingly Democratic district in St. Paul's East Side.

Republicans have sought to present themselves as pro-police and the Democrats as anti-police. In fact, law enforcement officials and groups are not unified behind either party.

Dave Orrick contributed to this report.