Minneapolis City Council kills controversial violence prevention idea, but acrimony remains

After pushback from violence interrupters — including a pastor who threatened council members this week — the Minneapolis City Council voted Thursday to essentially kill a proposal to move two violence prevention programs to the county.

Some council members last week proposed temporarily having Hennepin County manage two group violence prevention programs that they say have been mismanaged. They would also have sent $1.13 million to the county.

They backed off the idea after a heated week that exposed a rift on the council over the motivation behind the sudden push to move the programs.

The proposal prompted a prominent north Minneapolis pastor to interrupt a Monday council committee meeting and make threatening statements to the council, which he doubled down on in a Tuesday Facebook video. The Rev. Jerry McAfee — whose nonprofit has done violence-prevention work for years — went on a five-minute rant that several council members said made them feel threatened and sparked other threats.

Last year, his church, New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, won a nearly $306,000 city contract for violence-prevention work. His nonprofit, 21 Days of Peace, also received a $3 million direct appropriation from the Legislature in 2023.

McAfee promised to return to the full council meeting Thursday, and bring some of his people with him, and he delivered. The council meeting room was packed with people, some wearing orange jackets emblazoned with 21 Days of Peace. Other violence interruption group leaders and members were also there.

Since George Floyd’s 2020 police killing, the city has increasingly relied on such groups as an alternative to police. Some are staffed with people with criminal records who stand between police and angry residents, and try to diffuse tension.

Last year, some groups said the city stopped paying them, and the city was sued and accused of arbitrarily handing out millions of dollars in violence-prevention contracts. Luana Nelson-Brown, the former director of the Neighborhood Safety Department, recently resigned amid scrutiny by some council members.

Thursday’s meeting at one point devolved into council members accusing their colleagues of not caring when they’ve felt threatened in the past.

Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw said she did not feel threatened by McAfee on Monday. Others have threatened her in the past, but she said she was rebuffed when she asked for additional security, saying she’s being stalked by someone who recently walked up to her with a pair of scissors.

“Reverend McAfee and I, we don’t always agree, but I do understand his passion for community,” Vetaw said. “We use words differently, and we’ve got to give people room to make mistakes.”

Some council members accused Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette of inflaming people like McAfee by suggesting malfeasance is behind the proposal to move the programs.

“I do think misinformation is going on, and that’s what we’re trying to get to the bottom of, because it has inflamed this community, and it has led to threats,” Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said, bringing howls of protest.

On Wednesday, Barnette has said he stands by “every word I’ve said publicly and in the press.”

Council Member Jamal Osman said he felt threatened during Monday’s meeting.

“Nobody has no rights to threaten me or threaten my community,” he said.

Council Member Jason Chavez talked about how he felt about McAfee accusing him of acting like a “girl” Monday, saying he was bullied when he was young for being gay and “speaking like a little girl.”

“So yeah, when someone calls you a little girl and you’re gay, that is homophobic,” he said, prompting some groans and heckling from the audience.

“I am proud to be gay,” Chavez said.

Council Member Jeremiah Ellison said McAfee is a North Side leader who is “going to speak his mind. We all know that.”

“I trust your heart but some of my colleagues do not know you,” he said to McAfee. “But at the same time, when we make threats, when people feel that the impact of your words were homophobic, that they were sexist, that they were attacked, I think that me knowing your heart, I think that you’re a big enough man to address it and lean into that criticism.”

Asked about that, McAfee said “lol which words?” in a text.

Council Member Robin Wonsley said she proposed moving the programs to the county because the city’s Neighborhood Safety Department has been mismanaged and hasn’t been able to produce any data on its programs’ outcomes in two years.

She said she was willing to jettison the proposal for now, but said she’d continue to scrutinize the department.

The council voted unanimously in favor of doing so.