VP Candidate Kaine’s Son Busted at Anti-Trump Rally in St. Paul

KaineThe aftermath of Hillary Clinton’s crushing loss just got more personal for Sen. Tim Kaine, Clinton’s former running mate.  It turns out Linwood Kaine, one of the Virginia senator’s sons, was among those busted by the cops at a pro-Trump rally at the Minnesota State Capitol last Saturday.

The 24 year old Kaine was among several dozen counter-protesters who tried to break up the rally with bull horns and a smoke bomb. The former vice-presidential candidate’s son was one of five arrested, but not yet charged, on suspicion of second-degree riot.

Speeches had been going on for about a half-hour inside the newly renovated Capitol rotunda when a group of people tried to disrupt the event. At one point, someone set off a smoke bomb — apparently striking a woman in the head, police said.

A 61-year-old Plymouth woman said she was hit in the head at 12:30 p.m., about 10 minutes after she arrived at the Trump rally. The woman said she saw something coming toward her, tried to avoid the object, but it struck her in the forehead, according to Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman. She was not injured. It was not clear who threw the smoke bomb.

Security guards intervened, skirmishes broke out, and someone sprayed chemical irritant into the crowd. Some counter-demonstrators dispersed, and the rally resumed.

Word of Kaine’s political connections only came to light after the Pioneer Press got wind of it. But the former Carleton College student appears to have been in the thick of it.

Woody Kaine was seen with four people who lit fireworks inside the Capitol, Linders said. Police are investigating whether Kaine was one of the people who was lighting the devices.

St. Paul police arrested Kaine and the four others near Rice Street and University Avenue, less than a block from the Capitol. After the group ran and a St. Paul police officer detained Kaine, “he turned around and squared up to fight with the officer,” Linders said Tuesday night. “The officer was able to place Mr. Kaine under arrest and take him to the Ramsey County jail for booking.”

Sen. Kaine acknowledged the incident late yesterday in a statement to the paper.

“We love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues,” he said. “They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully.”