Video shows state Rep. Dan Wolgamott drinking in liquor store parking lot

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a story up about an incident from July 7, in which state Rep. Dan Wolgamott (DFL-St. Cloud) was arrested for DWI in Kanabec County.

The third-term Democratic representative is one of the top leaders of the House DFL caucus and can be frequently seen presiding over the body during floor sessions in his capacity as Speaker Pro Tempore.

The Star Tribune includes link to the video (which plays after an ad); the video can also be found here on Twitter. In the Star Tribune clip, Wolgamott appears (0:20 second mark) to crack open a bottle of vodka, take a massive pull, then get behind the wheel of his Lincoln sedan. Later (1:28 mark), he backs up to leave the lot, nearly hitting a parked car in the process. In between, the time stamp at the top of the video indicates he sat in his parked car for four minutes before leaving. The images in the video appear to confirm contemporaneous eyewitness accounts from the parking lot that afternoon.

You can clearly see in the video that his sedan is not displaying a front license plate. In addition to the DWI, he was cited for the missing plate and having expired license tabs.

The liquor store in question is owned by the City of Mora.

The Star Tribune quotes the state rep as saying, “I take full responsibility.” Other than saying the four words in that order, it’s unclear in what form his responsibility taking will manifest itself.

Formal charges in the case have not been filed.