Activists out of control in Minneapolis disputes

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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The out-of-control, threatening behavior of some activists to try to intimidate Minneapolis officials has to stop. And there must be legal consequences for those who harass officeholders.

Last Thursday, protesters disrupted a City Council meeting over a plan to demolish a warehouse in south Minneapolis and build a city facility on the old Roof Depot site. Protest is one thing, but shutting down a council meeting while security is called in to clear the chambers is unacceptable.

Three council members — LaTrisha Vetaw, Michael Rainville and Emily Koski — filed police reports alleging that activists physically threatened and intimidated them at the meeting and in a separate incident over their support for the long-debated Roof Depot site plan.

Vetaw said an activist later approached her as she walked onto an escalator at U.S. Bank Plaza and recorded a video he posted on social media. Several times, Vetaw told him he was too close, and an altercation followed before security escorted the protester, D.J. Hooker, out of the building. Hooker later filed a complaint against Vetaw for damaging his cellphone case.

Also last week, a social media post showed the photos of six council members and read, "They and their families must never have a moment of peace while in public, EVER! We must ATTACK them and Mayor Jacob Frey (verbally) wherever..." Several times previously, Frey has found s "Kill the Mayor'' message on the front door of his home.

This week, Council Member Rainville told an editorial writer that the tension and what he considered violent threats were palpable at last week's council meeting. As a result, he filed the police complaint and is seeking a restraining order.

Rainville said he doesn't scare easily but reacted to "aggressive" threats of physical violence. He said someone who knows where he and his family live threatened that he was "coming to get" them.

Those who step up for public service should not have to live in fear, no matter how intense the debate on some issues might be.

It would help if all Minneapolis officials decried the intimidation tactics and defended their colleagues regardless of their policy positions. That's not been the case on the City Council, where some members have remained silent. Some view their silence as approval and even encouragement to use intimidation as a tactic.

Minneapolis is not alone in dealing with threats and bullying of public officials. National studies have shown an uptick in harassment faced by local, state and federal officeholders and other officials.

This kind of behavior damages our democracy. It makes it more challenging to retain qualified officials and recruit others to step up and run for office. And the more this kind of intimidation goes unpunished, the more it will occur. As we've argued repeatedly, peaceful protesting is a right of all citizens. Most elected and other local officials understand that they must listen to constituents who take issue — sometimes passionately — with decisions that they've made.

But threats and harassment too often cross the line of acceptable protest and sometimes violate the law.

Council Member Linea Palmisano told an editorial writer that she'll seek help from the Legislature to bump up consequences for attacks against public officials. We hope she's successful.