WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. — Two legislators, one of them drunk, the other carrying a firearm, got stopped by police on a traffic issue. This was about 1:50 a.m. — not a good morning for:
> Elliott Engen, a Republican from Lino Lakes.
> Walter Hudson, a Republican from Albertville.
Police said Engen initially denied drinking but later admitted to a couple of beers. Two 12-ounce Coors Lights at a White Bear Lake bar, he said. This, Engen told officers, was two to three hours earlier, between 11 and 11:30 p.m. At jail Engen registered a 0.13% blood alcohol concentration, considerably more then the 0.08% maximum allowed for driving. Engen explained he didn’t believe the alcohol affected his driving and that he was “sober cabbing” Hudson, and a second passenger. Hudson’s blood-alcohol level doesn’t appear in the police report, but it apparently exceeded the 0.04% maximum to be carrying a firearm. There was a bottle of alcohol in the backseat, which police said Hudson admitted was his. The third person in the pickup wasn’t named in the police report. Officers towed Engen’s pickup after the arrest and offered courtesy rides to the police station to wait for rides home. It was during a weapons screening at jail that an officer discovered Hudson’s 9-millimeter pistol. A records check determined he was a legal permit holder. The weapon and a holster, however, were confiscated for safekeeping.
Engen. In open collar for mugshot at Ramsey County jail. As a state representative he earns $51,750. So does Hudson.
Engen profile
Engen, age 27, a rising star in Minnesota Republican politics, is running for state auditor. In 2020 he lost a bid to represent House District 38-B by a narrow 50% to 49% margin. He was elected in 2022 from renumbered 38-A by 51% to 48%. In 2024 he won a second tern 54% to 45%. Engen is a Charlie Kirk style right-wing Republican. He holds a political science degree from Hamline University. Out of college he worked for a wildlife conservation group focused on invasive species prevention.
Hudson profile
Hudson, a Republican, is a two-term state representative from District 30-A in northwest Twin Cities suburbs. Age: 40. In 2022 and again 2024 he won 62% to 37%. He holds an information technology degree from the University of Phoenix. He has held jobs in logistics. He once hosted a talk show “Closing Argument” on Minneapolis radio station KTLK. He was a “Never Trump” campaigner in 2016. He likened Trump to Mussolini. However, during Trump’s recent Operation Metro Surge he defended the ICE killing of Renee Wood and called on President Trump to send federal troops to reinforce the ICE occupation of Minnesota. He’s an anti-vaxer.