MINNEAPOLIS – In a scramble to minimize damage from revelations that they’ve taken campaign donations from a Minneapolis donor accused of running a sex ring, Congressmen Tom Emmer and Jim Hagedorn have gifted the money to charity. So have other recipients, all of them Republicans. All issued statement that disavowed their relationships with the donor, Anton Lazarro. He is in court after an FBI investigation concluded that he recruited and solicited teen-age girls.
> Congressman Jim Hagedorn, 1st Congressional District, said his $21,000 in Lazarro money will be donated to charity. “These charges are deeply troubling,” Hagedorn said. “Should these serious allegations lead to a conviction, we expect the imposition of the strictest punishments under our judicial system.”
> Congresman Tom Emmer, 6th Congressional District, called news about Lazarro “deeply disturbing.” Emmer said he will divide his Lazzaro money between two shelter organizations, Alexandra House in Blaine and Anna Marie’s Alliance in St. Cloud.
> State GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan, said: “If the allegations against Mr. Anton Lazzaro are true, this is an abhorrent act that the Republican Party condemns in the highest possible terms.” She said Lazarro’s money would go organization to charity. “Sex trafficking is a heinous act that preys on victims of all ages, races, and backgrounds, and warrants severe punishment by our judicial system. A full investigation is necessary to ensure due process is provided to all parties involved.”
> State Senator Karin Housley, R-Saint Marys Point, called the allegations against Lazarro “disturbing and troubling.” The allegations “make my heart ache for the victims of such a horrifying crime,” she said. Her Lazarro money, she said, would be made a contribution to the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, for its anti-trafficking efforts.
> Former State Repesenttaive Doug Wardlow, R-Prior Lake, said he rerouted his Lazarro to the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota’s Our Girls Are Not for Sale project. “I am deeply disturbed by the allegations against Anton Lazzaro. I have always fought to end the horrible practice of human trafficking.” Wardlow, a candidate for attorney general in 2022, said: “I will make it my mission to do so as Minnesota attorney general.”
