Democratic Minneapolis City Council candidate says he doesn't condone violence, days after melee
Days after chaos erupted at a Democratic nominating convention for a Minneapolis City Council seat, one of the candidates says he does not condone violence
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Days after chaos erupted at a Democratic nominating convention for a Minneapolis City Council seat, one of the candidates said he does not condone violence.
Nasri Warsame, a political newcomer and Somali immigrant who is running for the seat currently held by Aisha Chughtai, said Wednesday: “I do not condone violence. I do not condone intimidation or harassment of any sort.”
Saturday's convention was held to endorse a candidate for the Minneapolis City Council race. Video circulating on social media shows a disturbance happened after supporters of Chughtai took the stage to seek the delegates’ backing for the seat. That sparked an uproar among Warsame's supporters.
Some jumped on stage, shouting, banging on tables and waving signs. At least two people were injured, and the convention broke up with no endorsement.
Warsame's campaign manager, Abshir Omar, said Wednesday that Warsame’s supporters were victims — not perpetrators. Omar said Warsame’s supporters — who are primarily Black, Muslim and immigrants — have been the target of racism.
Chughtai released a statement saying: “The Warsame campaign is asking you to believe their version of events, which are clearly not what we all saw on the videos. This convention used the same open and transparent process that the DFL has always used, and was agreed to by both campaigns."
Chughtai's spokesperson, Akhi Menawat, said previously that he didn’t think the dispute had anything to do with ethnicity or race.
Minnesota Democratic leaders are holding an emergency meeting Thursday to determine if rules need to change as a result of the disturbance. Ken Martin, chair of the state Democratic Party organization, has said he would use the meeting to propose a change that would “ban individuals engaged in violent assaults” from the party and “take immediate action to remove the folks involved."
Both Warsame and Chughtai are Democratic candidates in an overwhelmingly Democratic city where campaigns for party backing are often heated.
Warsame is a political newcomer who is campaigning on a law-and-order message. Chughtai is a longtime activist who managed U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s 2018 campaign. She is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants and has endorsements from a long list of progressive and labor groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America.
__
Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow Trisha Ahmed on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15