Republicans Set To Counterprotest During Biden's Minnesota Rally
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TWIN CITIES, MN — Minnesota Republicans are set to "counterprotest" the Joe Biden rally in the Twin Cities Friday. The action was planned to retaliate against top state Democrats, whom GOP officials accuse of "stifling" free speech as it relates to President Donald Trump and his own rally being held Friday in Minnesota.
Tim Murtaugh, the director of communications for the Trump campaign, said Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison restricted Friday's Trump rally in Rochester to 250 people. The limits on crowd size have existed since March as an effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Earlier this month, the Women's March Minnesota was canceled over similar restrictions.
Thanks to free speech-stifling dictates of Gov. Walz and A.G. Ellison, only the first 250 people will be admitted. @realDonaldTrump will not allow partisan politicians to deprive people of their 1st Amendment rights to gather peacefully to hear directly from the President. pic.twitter.com/KN2z79Dxbk
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) October 30, 2020
Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis called on his supporters to show up ahead of the Biden rally and "shut it down."
"Time to fight fire with fire," he said.
Walz and Ellison have enforced restrictions aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus, including limiting events to 250 people. In September, Walz warned both Trump and Biden that events cannot exceed 250 people.
COVID-19 cases and deaths have been rising in Minnesota throughout October. On Friday, the state Department of Health recorded a single-day high of 3,165 new virus cases and 18 deaths.
Before Friday, Minnesota had never seen more than 3,000 recorded cases in a single day.
Just because you’re tired of hearing this doesn’t make it any less important: If you mask up, social distance, and take this pandemic seriously, you can save lives and help keep our economy open.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) October 30, 2020
Still, Republicans claim the restrictions placed on their rally are political.
"DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison and Governor Tim Walz tried to stop the Trump rally in Rochester because they want to silence you and stop President Trump from winning on Tuesday," Andy Aplikowski, political director for the state Republican party, told supporters in an email Friday.
"They are using scare tactics, fear and government threats to silence us and prevent you from showing your support for the President. But it's not going to work. Today we are going to welcome Joe Biden to Trump Country."
Trump, Biden host dueling rallies Friday in Minnesota
Biden will speak at his "drive-in" rally at 3:45 p.m.
Trump will host a "Make America Great Again Victory Rally" at the Rochester International Airport. It will begin at 5:45 p.m.
Also read: MN Voters Urged To Vote, Return Ballot In Person After Ruling
Editor's note: The original version of this article has been updated for clarity
This article originally appeared on the Southwest Minneapolis Patch
