Finally! State Patrol Cracks Down on Freeway Protesters

Under leftist Gov. Tim Walz, the Minnesota State Patrol has repeatedly looked the other way as favored political protesters flagrantly broke the law and endangered public safety.  Most infamously, the state’s top cops stood by and watched as protesters tore down the statue of Christopher Columbus at the State Capitol in June.

But American Experiment has pointed out the politicization of the patrol and other public safety officials under Walz in other instances in recent posts.

Walz’s Minnesota State Patrol and Department of Transportation have effectively given the go-ahead to protesters who decide to shut down Twin Cities freeways to make their point. The hands-off policy toward demonstrators on interstate highways almost led to a tragedy when a tanker truck was mistakenly allowed onto the new I-35 W bridge during the George Floyd protests.

State law enforcement looked the other way yet again on July 1 when protesters brought traffic to a halt on I-94 in St. Paul over the death of an activist in Ethiopia…

Whatever their cause, it’s as if protesters can expect to receive a police escort as they disrupt their fellow citizens’ lives in clear violation of the law in what increasingly looks like the banana republic of Minnesota subject to the whims of Gov. Tim Walz.

Thursday a convoy of protesters complaining about political conditions in Ethiopia disrupted traffic on I-94 again. But apparently the rush hour  slowdown between the Twin Cities went too far, even for Walz. Perhaps one of the governor’s supporters or contributors got held  up on the way home and got through to him.

Whatever the case, someone in the political chain of command evidently gave the green light for the state patrol to finally do its job. After previously allowing groups protesting Ethiopian politics to not only walk on the  freeway but also walk afterward without getting arrested, officers cracked down, according to the Star Tribune’s account.

The incident, which the State Patrol described as a protest, included as many as 60 vehicles driving about 10 mph.

Four drivers were cited as of Thursday afternoon and could face charges of impeding traffic. Troopers were working to identify others who were involved, said patrol spokesman Lt. Gordon Shank.

A large group of motorists about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday got on I-94 at Marion Street near the State Capitol in St. Paul and spread out across the four westbound lanes. The group stayed on the freeway until it exited at Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis, Shank said.

Of course Walz public safety officials also claimed to be working to identify the vandals who bragged on television about the $150,000 damage they did to public property by toppling the Columbus statue. More than two months later, just one individual has been apologetically charged by the Ramsey County Attorney.

But it appears Walz has removed the handcuffs preventing the state patrol from enforcing the law and protecting public safety by the book again–for now.

“The State Patrol respects the rights of citizens to exercise their constitutional rights in a safe manner,” Shank said. “Blocking the freeway is dangerous any time of day. Vehicles are traveling at freeway speeds which can increase the chances of significant injuries if a crash occurs.”