ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota House People of Color and Indigenous Caucus has issued the following statement:
“This administration continues to destroy First Amendment rights to protest, assemble, and report the news. The arrests of local leaders and journalists, all of whom are Black, show that this administration is focused on fear to get Minnesotans to falter. We recognize these arrests as part of a larger, systemic anti-Black movement orchestrated by the Trump administration to silence marginalized voices and to brutalize Black and Brown bodies for speaking out against his authoritarian regime.
“This is clear intimidation and a continued assault by the Trump administration—an act of retribution against Minnesotans. We stand in solidarity with Don Lemon, independent local journalist Georgia Fort, Black Lives Matter Minnesota co-founder Trahern Crews, and community activist Jamael Lundy and call for their immediate release.”
The members of the House POCI Caucus are Rep. Cedrick Frazier (Co-Chair) (DFL-New Hope 43A), Rep. Liish Kozlowski (Co-Chair) (DFL-Duluth 08B), Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega (Vice Chair) (DFL-St. Paul 65B), Rep. Aisha Gomez (DFL-Minneapolis 62A), Rep. Anquam Mahamoud (DFL-Minneapolis 62B), Rep. Athena Hollins (DFL-St. Paul 66B), Rep. Brion Curran (DFL-White Bear Lake 36B), Rep. Esther Agbaje (DFL-Minneapolis 59B), Rep. Ethan Cha (DFL-Woodbury 47B), Rep. Fue Lee (DFL-Minneapolis 59A), Rep. Huldah Momanyi-Hiltsley (DFL- Osseo 38A), Rep. Jay Xiong (DFL-St. Paul 67B), Rep. Liz Lee (DFL-St. Paul 67A), Rep. Mary Frances Clardy (DFL-Inver Grove Heights 53A), Rep. Mohamud Noor (DFL-Minneapolis 60B), Rep. Samakab Hussein (DFL-St. Paul 65A), Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura (DFL-Minneapolis 63A), Rep. Samantha Vang (DFL-Brooklyn Center 38B), Rep. XP Lee (Brooklyn Park 34B).