Embattled Representative John Thompson Expelled From DFL Caucus

(KNSI) — The Minnesota House DFL caucus has ousted embattled Representative John Thompson.

Tuesday night, the Minnesota House DFL met and voted to expel Thompson after refusing repeated calls to resign.

Thompson has been in the news since July 4th when police stopped him in St. Paul for not having a front license plate on his vehicle. Thompson accused the police officer of racially profiling him. Bodycam footage of that incident was made public and showed Thompson handing over a Wisconsin driver’s license. Thompson’s driving privileges were suspended in Minnesota over an alleged child support issue, which Thompson claimed was incorrect.

A deeper search of records shows several allegations of domestic abuse in which Thomson was accused of punching and choking women, sometimes in the presence of children. He was found guilty earlier this year for an obstruction charge stemming from an incident at North Memorial in Robbinsdale.

A new issue also came to light this week. Thompson is accused of not paying fines and a request was made to suspend his license.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman and House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler both said Tuesday that “Rep. Thompson’s actions, credible reports of abuse and misconduct, and his failure to take responsibility remain unacceptable for a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. It would be best for Rep. Thompson, his family, and the institution for him to resign. In the absence of a resignation, the Minnesota House DFL has voted to remove Rep. Thompson from the caucus.”

Top DFL party leaders including Governor Tim Walz, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, Speaker Hortman, Majority Leader Winkler, and Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin have all called for Thompson’s resignation. St. Cloud area Representative Dan Wolgamott issued a statement back in July saying, “Representative John Thompson’s recent actions and disturbing reports of abuse fall well short of the standards Minnesotans expect and deserve from their elected officials. I call on Rep. Thompson to resign immediately.”

Thompson, so far, has been defiant.

Following the announcement of the expulsion, Thompson took to his Facebook page to respond, saying the “Allegations about something that allegedly happened to me twenty years ago does not disqualify me from doing my job today.” He says he has gotten counseling and help to deal with the stress he was dealing with after the death of his mother, his son being shot and his friend Philando Castile being killed by a police officer.

As for the license issue, he said he held a Wisconsin driver’s license until it expired right before he was elected to the House in November. He said he does hold a Minnesota driver’s license, but he does not like his address being public, “so that white supremacists can show up to my home after they threaten to kill me and my family in messages sent to my inbox as they have continually done for several years.”

Last summer, upset over George Floyd’s death, Thompson stood outside the home of then Minneapolis Police Lieutenant and Union President Bob Kroll and was caught on video in an expletive-laden tirade threatening Kroll’s neighbors and saying he was going to burn down the town where he lived. Effigies of Kroll and his wife were then hung in their driveway and beaten.

Thompson admitted to making bad decisions in the past, said he has “been through the storm and back,” and said he is a “passionate and vocal Black man.” He continued, saying that in running for office, “I felt I was showing my twelve-year-old son that no matter what challenges you face as a young Black man, you can be the change you want to see in this world. When he cried and told me that he was proud of me it honestly let me know that I’m on the right track.”

Thompson will no longer be allowed to participate in DFL party events or tap into party resources.

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