A demonstration that was initially scheduled to occur outside Mayor Jacob Frey’s residence has caused controversy among two Minneapolis environmental justice organizations and threatened a ten-year effort to transform an old industrial area into a city farm.
The demonstration, arranged by the Climate Justice Committee MN and set for Thursday, was relocated to a public park earlier this week.
On Monday, the Minnesota Star Tribune released acommentaryfrom the mayor’s wife, Sarah Clarke, which brought renewed attention to protesting at the residences of public officials following the attacks on Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman earlier this summer.
“Violence directed at public officials and their families is no longer just a possibility — it has occurred right here in Minnesota,” Clarke wrote.
The Climate Justice Committee aimed to highlight a conflict in the city’s East Phillips area, where for over ten years, another organization called the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute has been contesting with the city of Minneapolis regarding control of a former roofing supply warehouse, often referred to as Roof Depot.
The city abandoned its proposal for a public works location two years back and chose to sell Roof Depot for $16 million to EPNI, which aimed to transform the Roof Depot site into a community-managed urban farm.
. The advocates have now collected more than $10 million, but wereunsuccessfulin their applications for state funding for the remaining money for two consecutive years.
The deadline for finalizing the sale, which has been postponed several times, is rapidly approaching next month. Over the past two months, EPNI has been attempting to arrange a meeting with Frey to talk about lowering the purchase price. A portion of the organization’s reasoning for this is arecent appraisaldemonstrating the building’s true value to be approximately $3.7 million.
The Mayor’s Office ultimately decided to meet with EPNI on Monday, but called it off last week once the Climate Justice Committee started organizing a protest outside Frey’s home in northeast Minneapolis. Social media flyers for the event specified the closest intersection and stated, “Stop undermining the Roof Depot deal!”
Recent communications and upcoming actions by supporters of EPNI have made it hard to envision this as the ‘friendly and constructive dialogue’ you initially described,” wrote the mayor’s chief of staff, Grace Waltz, in an email canceling the meeting. “Publicly disclosing a home address in these situations is not responsible advocacy, particularly given the recent targeted and violent attacks on officials in Minnesota.
EPNI stated to the Minnesota Star Tribune that it and the Climate Justice Committee were completely separate entities. EPNI did not arrange, support, or promote the protest by the Climate Justice Committee, and organizers expressed hope that the Mayor’s Office would not hold them accountable for another group’s political actions.
Daniel Colten-Schmidt, who serves as the finance and fundraising director at EPNI, stated that EPNI requested the Climate Justice Committee to refrain from protesting at the mayor’s residence, and the Climate Justice Committee complied with this request.
We addressed [the Mayor’s Office] early Monday morning, expressing that this meeting is very significant to us and that we remain open to meeting in good faith,” said Colten-Schmidt. “We informed them about our efforts to contact the Climate Justice Committee and request that they relocate the protest, as it was threatening our discussions.
The Climate Justice Committee relocated the protest last week to a public park four blocks from Frey’s residence. They broadened the focus of the demonstration to incorporate criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and theDFL’s revocationof state Senator Omar Fateh’s mayoral support, which was also revealed late last week. Fateh is among anumber of candidateschallenging Frey in his effort to run for a third term in November.
It is still scheduled for Thursday.
In response to Clarke’s comments, Michael Wood, a spokesperson for the Climate Justice Committee, stated that the group was offended by the comparison of peaceful protesters to “right-wing assassins,” referring toVance Boelter, who has been accused in the legislative shooting.
Often overlooked before a protest at a politician’s residence are the various other methods constituents have used to communicate with these officials,” Wood stated. “It is not something that any group takes lightly, as there are significant risks of public backlash. However, in certain situations, we believe it is essential to convey our message to these officials, emphasizing their need to be held accountable.
Frey and Clarke have been beforevoiced concernsregarding the intensity of hostility they have encountered at their home, including demonstrations and warnings. Hennepin County Commissioner Heather Edelson expressed comparable concernsconcernsearlier this month, when demonstrators who were against the incineration of waste showed up at the residence of another commissioner.
A spokesperson for Frey, Ally Peters, stated that the Mayor’s Office would contact EPNI regarding their request to reschedule the meeting concerning the Roof Depot acquisition. She voiced disappointment that EPNI has not publicly criticized the Climate Justice Committee’s demonstration.
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