DFL House candidate apologizes for language used at protest outside Minneapolis police union president's home
HUGO, MN - AUGUST 15: Activist Marques Armstrong speaks during a protest near Minneapolis Police Union Chief Bob Kroll's house on August 15, 2020 in Hugo, Minnesota. Residents in Minneapolis have been calling for Kroll's resignation since George Floy (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images / Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Minnesota House candidate is apologizing for the language he used at a demonstration outside the home of the Minneapolis police union president.
More than 100 people gathered Saturday outside Bob Kroll’s house in Hugo where he lives with his wife WCCO-TV reporter Liz Collin.
HUGO, MN - AUGUST 15: Demonstrators march during a protest near Minneapolis Police Union Chief Bob Kroll's house on August 15, 2020 in Hugo, Minnesota. Residents in Minneapolis have been calling for Kroll's resignation since George Floyd was killed b (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Demonstrators called for both to be fired from their jobs. They want Kroll to resign for defending what they say are “killer cops” and for Collin to be fired for what they say is a conflict of interest as a local journalist.
DFL activist John Thompson, who won last week’s primary for a St. Paul House seat, shouted a number of expletives through a microphone during his speech at the rally as neighbors and children watched.
HUGO, MN - AUGUST 15: John Thompson, Minnesota Democratic candidate for district 67A, speaks during a protest near Minneapolis Police Union Chief Bob Kroll's house on August 15, 2020 in Hugo, Minnesota. Residents in Minneapolis have been calling for (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Thompson posted an apology on Facebook Sunday, saying “inflammatory rhetoric” is not how he wants to address important issues that Black people are facing, the Star Tribune reported.
Minnesota DFL Chairman Ken Martin also issued a statement Sunday saying the party does not condone any rhetoric that is violent, hateful or inflammatory.
Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan referred to the protesters as “radical Democrats” who harassed the Hugo neighborhood.