Minnesota Capitol. Photo courtesy of House Public Information Services.
A group of activists on Tuesday disrupted a Republican House committee hearing on Tuesday, yelling “stop the coup” and telling GOP lawmakers they weren’t conducting legitimate proceedings because they didn’t have a quorum of members.
Republicans were holding their first committee hearing of the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee Tuesday and hearing testimony from Shane Myre, president of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, about ways the Legislature could boost law enforcement recruitment and retention.
Then an activist interrupted his testimony with a bullhorn, in a 20-minute incident that was filmed by a Republican lawmaker.
“That’s quite enough of that bulls***. We’re done with this,” activist Amber Muhm interjected. “This is an illegitimate committee. You don’t have quorum in the House. You know this is bulls***.”
Republicans currently hold a 1-vote advantage in the House, 67-66, pending a special election in a left-leaning suburban district that is vacant because the winning Democrat didn’t meet the residency requirements. Democrats are boycotting the GOP-led House proceedings in an effort to deny a quorum and stop Republicans from claiming the speakership and potentially ousting a Democrat who narrowly won reelection in an election marred by 20 votes going missing.
Muhm, who’s also an employee of the Aliveness Project, held a bullhorn and repeatedly cursed at Republicans. The audio of the committee hearing’s live stream cut off shortly after the protest began, but committee member Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, took out his phone and captured the protest on video, which he later posted to YouTube.
Muhm, during profanity-filled rants, told the Republican committee members that “you don’t get to sit here and move in silence and smirk and act like a f**king smug a**hole when you don’t have quorum … I’m done with it.”
House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, condemned the activists’ actions in a statement to the Reformer.
“I denounce the actions of disrupting meetings. The State Capitol is a place where people should visit and make their voices heard. However, individuals should not disrupt meetings. Such actions are counterproductive to effectively delivering a message to legislators,” Hortman said.
In addition, Hortman said that “legislators should never target individual staff members on social media,” in an apparent reference to Hudson’s post on X calling out one of the House DFL’s staff members for expressing support for Muhm on social media.
Hudson, in a statement to the Reformer, said that it was “inappropriate for staff to express public support for criminal acts targeting members. The conduct of those disrupting House business on Tuesday violated Minnesota statute … and does not qualify as lawful protest,” Hudson said. “Staff members have been properly disciplined for far less than supporting crimes committed against those they serve.”
Republicans blamed House Democrats for encouraging the aggressive behavior. Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul, encouraged people on social media to come to the Capitol and “let the Republicans know that these fascist tactics are not welcome!”
In a statement, a House DFL spokesperson said that “Finke did not direct or participate in the protest at the Capitol on Jan 21. She simply promoted a rally that was happening at the Capitol, as legislators from both parties often do.”
House Democrats are also promoting another “stop the coup” rally on Monday, this one hosted by Indivisible Twin Cities.