Saint Paul, Minn. – This morning, the Trump administration announced the arrest of three individuals, Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly. The Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Minnesota House and Senate People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus responded to the charges:
“This morning, the Trump administration arrested an elected official and two other community leaders. These actions show the unfettered lawlessness of this administration as they continue to erode Minnesotans constitutional rights,” said Rep. Liish Kozlowski (DFL-Duluth). “Protesting the actions of the federal government can be uncomfortable for some - but what’s more uncomfortable is seeing children arrested, the unjustified killing of a Minnesotan going uninvestigated, and the blatant disregard for our civil rights and our shared sense of humanity.”
“Minnesotans’ civil, human, free speech, and due process rights are being violated hundreds of times a day by these thousands of federal agents,” said Senator Zaynab Mohamed (DFL-Minneapolis). “None of those crimes is of any concern to the Department of Justice and Pam Bondi, not even – especially not – the public murder of Renee Macklin Good. This protest incident, however, is being treated like an emergency in need of justice, because the people they can arrest and attempt to prosecute are Black women like Chauntyll Allen and Nekima Levy Armstrong. Our country has to be better than this. No wonder Bondi’s federal prosecutors are quitting in groups rather than support this authoritarian farce.”
“Some may not agree with the disruption caused by protesting, but many more people are angry about the violence being put upon our neighbors. The rule of law is critical to our democracy and must be applied evenly. We have seen the President go after those who stand up to him, whether in powerful positions like Attorney General Leticia James and Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, or federal workers,” said Rep. Cedrick Frazier (DFL-New Hope). “Under this administration, a significant proportion of federal workers who have been fired are Black women. Trump is acting like his friends are above the law, while people who don’t look like him are de-facto criminals.”
“As members of the POCI Caucus, we see this administration for what it is. Its goal is to further erode the rights of all marginalized communities regardless of immigration status in order to reinstate white supremacy, racism, and discrimination as the law of the land,” said Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega (DFL-Saint Paul). “While we all suffer from the ICE raids, these same tactics that are forcing businesses to close, kids not showing up to school, and workers too scared to work, have a direct effect on Black, brown, and Indigenous communities who are often the first to feel the economic downturn and then the last to recover.”
“This administration’s time would be better spent investigating and arresting ICE agents who have violated the civil rights and liberties of Minnesotans. Churches, mosques and temples are no longer safe when a lawless, masked federal paramilitary terrorizes Black, brown and Asian Minnesotans on their way to or from worship,” said Sen. Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley). “If Attorney General Bondi wants to prevent disruptions to places of worship, she should hold ICE and DHS accountable for the havoc being wrought on Minnesotans.”
Members of the House POCI Caucus are Reps. Liish Kozlowski (Chair), Cedrick Frazier (Chair), María Isa Pérez-Vega (Vice Chair), Aisha Gomez, Anquam Mahamoud, Athena Hollins, Brion Curran, Esther Agbaje , Ethan Cha, Fue Lee, XP Lee, Huldah Hiltsley, Jay Xiong, Liz Lee, Mary Frances Clardy, Mohamud Noor, Samakab Hussein, Samantha Sencer-Mura, and Samantha Vang.
The members of the Senate POCI Caucus are Senator Zaynab Mohamed (Chair), Senator Erin Maye Quade (Vice Chair), Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, Senator Omar Fateh, Senator Foung Hawj, Senator Alice Mann, Senator Mary Kunesh, Senator Susan Pha, Senator Clare Oumou Verbeten, and Senator Tou Xiong.
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