Minneapolis DFL chair calls burning of police precinct ‘revolutionary moment,’ ‘act of pure righteousness’

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The chair of the Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is defending a recent op-ed in which he argued that rioters’ burning of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct headquarters last year was an “act of pure righteousness” in their minds and a “genuine revolutionary moment.”

In an Aug. 2 opinion piece for Southside Pride, a local monthly newspaper, titled The cops started it, Minneapolis DFL Chair Devin Hogan argued that the burning of the Third Precinct on May 28, 2020, three days after George Floyd’s death in the same city, was a “proportional response” to the treatment of Black people by police.

AS DEFUND THE POLICE MOVEMENT TRICKLES DOWN FROM BIG CITIES, SMALL-TOWN AMERICA PAYS THE PRICE

Four men have since been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay millions in restitution over their roles in the precinct’s burning.

“They killed George Floyd and took every opportunity to escalate, agitate and make things worse. The cops are rioting and the people are responding,” Hogan wrote. “Like it or not, setting the Third Precinct on fire was a genuine revolutionary moment. An act of pure righteousness to open new worlds of understanding. The people declared themselves ungovernable and unilaterally took their power back. The largest international human rights movement in modern history had begun. The youth of Minneapolis carried all of this. The cops started it.

“The call from the streets was genuine liberation, truly and finally. The work continues until that day comes,” he continued. “Eyes on the prize. Remember the demand of the streets. The blood and treasure spent. This is our job. Minneapolis must answer the call. For real this time. For real for real. Do it for the kids.”

Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin slammed Hogan in an opinion piece of his own, saying his comments “do not reflect the views of the Minnesota DFL Party or the Minneapolis DFL Party, and they certainly do not reflect the views of any elected officials in our party with whom I have spoken.”

“I condemn Hogan’s dangerous, violent and inflammatory rhetoric,” Martin wrote.

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, responded to Hogan’s op-ed in a tweet, writing, “More proof Democrats only care about advancing their radical agenda, not the safety of Americans. There’s no denying it – Democrats are following Devin Hogan, John Thompson, & Cori Bush’s lead to defund the police.”

In an email to Fox News Wednesday morning, Hogan said people were misinterpreting his use of the word “righteousness.”

“People have seized on the word righteousness as if I am the one assigning it moral value,” he wrote. “That is not the case. It’s meant to convey how the protestors felt at the time in response to their conditions. This is obvious to anyone in Minneapolis who was paying close attention when it happened.”

Hogan had no direct response to Martin’s criticism, except that he thinks his Minnesota counterpart is “very good at his job.”

In a Facebook post Monday, Hogan slammed his critics and said he did not advocate for violence.

“The truth hurts,” he wrote. “Accurately describing reality is not a call to arms. Explaining the conditions of violent repression with the reasons why and how people react to that oppression is not condoning violence.

“Fetishizing decorum over substance is a hallmark of white supremacy,” he continued. “If antiracism offends your sensibilities then please use this moment to examine the role you play in maintaining and upholding these systems. Which side are you on?”

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The Minneapolis DFL did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

Hogan’s op-ed was first reported by The Washington Times.