Columbia Heights City Council moves to censure member over racist phone call

The Columbia Heights City Council is moving to censure one of its members, who allegedly called a City Council candidate over the summer and made racist comments to him.

The Council, acting on a recommendation from Mayor Amáda Márquez Simula, directed city staff on Wednesday to prepare the censure against Councilmember KT Jacobs, including her removal from appointed boards and commissions.

An independent council previously ruled that Jacobs violated the council's code of conduct when she allegedly made the call to Justice Spriggs on July 24. The measure is expected to come before the council Oct. 10.

"It's so disappointing to see it and the hurt it has caused our community, not to mention Justice Spriggs," Márquez Simula said.

Jacobs has not responded to an email seeking comment.

In July, after the incident came to light, Jacobs apologized to Spriggs. "As an elected official in this community, I take my duties very seriously. I'm deeply sorry that the incident took place," she said at the time.

In a statement, Jacobs also apologized to her council colleagues and to residents of the north metro suburb.

But she maintained that she did not make the two-hour phone call, in which the caller asked Spriggs if he was raised in a white household or Black household, if he was Black enough to call himself biracial, and which of his family members were people of color.

Spriggs said he told the caller that his grandparents married in 1968 and that his paternal grandfather, who is Black, was a World War II veteran who fought at D-Day.

The Council voted to launch an investigation after Spriggs, who finished second in the August primary, reported the phone call he got from a number belonging to Jacobs. The caller, Spriggs said, gave a fake name and posed as a concerned citizen, then berated him about his ideals and qualifications for office.

Spriggs, who is 26 and a fourth-year medical school student at the University of Minnesota, said the incident was disheartening and upsetting.

Days after the call, Jacobs, whose term runs through Jan. 2025, acknowledged in an email that the call was placed from her personal cellphone, but said the call was made by an extended family member who was not authorized to use it. Jacobs told investigators the call was made by her husband's niece.

The report from Red Cedar Consulting said investigators could not find a person with the name Jacobs had given for the caller. The report also found that based on a preponderance of evidence that Jacobs made "repeated untruthful statements."

"Based on a full consideration of the evidence in the record, it is more likely than not that KT Jacobs' assertions regarding the July 24 phone call have been untruthful," the report said. "This Investigator finds that by making these repeated untruthful statements — and in addition to her conduct during the phone call itself — KT Jacobs has failed to conduct herself ethically and in accordance with the City Council Code of Conduct."