Rochester council meeting attendee arrested after disrupting meeting

Randy Petersen, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Jul. 10—ROCHESTER — A Rochester woman was ejected from Monday's Rochester City Council meeting and arrested after repeatedly interjecting during council discussion.

Less than 30 minutes into the meeting, the resident started making loud comments to Council President Brooke Carlson, who attempted to inform her that her comments were out of order.

"This is a public meeting, and I am part of the public," the woman told Carlson, acknowledging it wasn't the first meeting she had interrupted from the audience.

The woman, later identified as 52-year-old Rebecca Draeger, did not opt to speak during the public-comment section at the beginning of the meeting.

"We've had this disagreement, and I appreciate you are a passionate person, but we do have rules of procedure in our chambers," Carlson said, after being prompted by City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage to warn Draeger she could be expelled for interrupting the meeting.

"Rules of procedure are not law," the woman said from the front row of the audience, objecting to the request to avoid interrupting and arguing with Carlson from the audience.

A five-minute break was called, allowing time for Rochester Police Chief Jim Franklin and another officer to escort her from the council chambers.

As Franklin and the officer walked Draeger out the door, she appeared to go limp and fell to the ground at the doorway.

She was physically removed from chambers to allow the meeting to continue as Franklin continued to urge her to cooperate. She continued to sit on the floor outside the council chambers as Franklin sought her cooperation.

"The actions tonight are being dictated by your actions and choices," he said as an Olmsted County deputy and another police officer approached.

Franklin said she was ultimately arrested shortly before 8 p.m. Draeger, who is from Rochester, was cited for obstructing the legal process and disorderly conduct, police said Tuesday morning. She was booked and released from the Adult Detention Center.

At the end of the Monday meeting, council member Molly Dennis said she thought Draeger was confused by the council process, suggesting a better approach would be to explain council rules.

"I felt she didn't understand," she said.