Minnesota lawmaker says he was 'assaulted' at activist group's public meeting
A state lawmaker alleges he was assaulted when he tried to enter an activist group's meeting that was billed as open to the general public.
Rep. Nolan West, a Republican from Blaine, described his "weird evening" in a Facebook post Thursday, saying he went to the event at the Blaine VFW Post 6316 because "as the local representative it made sense for me to go."
The group Action 4 Liberty MN — whose stated goal is to "protect liberty for the next generation" and "STOP Governor Walz' shutdown powers" — organized the Thursday meeting. It was described on a flyer (captured below via a cached version of the group's events page) as a "patriot meetup and caucus training" that was for the "general public."
A screengrab from the group's cached web site.
Action 4 Liberty cached web page
"The event is free, so tell friends and family. We hope to see you on Thursday!" the caption beneath the event flyer said on the site.
West said that as he entered the room, a man approached and told him to go outside. According to West, he walked to the edge of the room but didn't exit the building. He continued:
"[The man] said I needed to leave because 'politicians aren't allowed.' I thought that was strange, because their invite says "FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC", and also you go to caucus to SELECT politicians. ...
He insisted on me leaving and then said he was going to call the cops. I laughed, which I probably shouldn't have, and after that he attacked me and grabbed my arm with both hands and yanked me out of the room, and slammed the door."
West said he was "assaulted."
Action 4 Liberty President Jake Duesenberg, in a statement to Bring Me The News, took issue with West's version of events, saying he showed up to a "privately booked event" and was asked to leave " so we could teach our people about getting involved in politics."
West became "disruptive" and refused to go, according to Duesenberg.
"It’s sad to see politicians try to disrupt our grassroots training," his statement said.
Video posted to Twitter by Michael Brodkorb, former Minnesota Republican Party Deputy Chair and now writer, offers a glimpse of the purported incident.
Near the doorway, one man appears to pull another out of the room, then close the door. West said on Facebook that is him "getting assaulted."
Action 4 Liberty has a number of upcoming "patriot meetup and caucus training" events posted to its website. While some specifically require people to RSVP others — including Thursday's event in Blaine and the upcoming Jan. 24 East Grand Forks meet-up — note it is free and for the general public.
Kelly Fenton, a Republicans former Minnesota state representative who served from 2015-18, shared Brodkorb's video and said West should press charges, writing: "This is uncalled for!"
The Blaine Police Department told Bring Me The News Friday afternoon there is not a police report for the incident.
