ST.PAUL Minn. – The state Peace and Police Officers Association called for State Representative John Thompson to leave office for snubbing requirements in reporting his residency. The association also cited “serious violent charges, such as making terroristic threats, several incidents of domestic assault, and trespassing, all in addition to other civil matters regarding child support and more.” The association also noted that Thompson threatened to burn down a neighborhood and beat an effigy of a police officer’s wife outside their home. “These criminal and civil charges, created by his own actions — along with his own lack of transparency and honesty about his record, including his most recent traffic stop — make him unfit to serve in the Minnesota Legislature,” the association said. In a lengthy news release, the association called for a recall election if Johnson, a Democrat, refuses to step down. Johnson, meanwhile, has accused police of racial-profiling. The issue has escalated from a traffic stop July 4. Johnson produced a valid Wisconsin driver’s license that showed an address outside his St. Paul legislative district.
Dashcam video
St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell confirmed that the July 4 traffic stop of State Representative John Thompson was recorded on police dashcam video. The Peace and Police Officers Association claims said that Johnson, as is his right under the law, has prohibited the release of the video.
Political implications
Thompson, a Democrat, replaced Republican John Stromenger, who didn’t seek re-election. Thompson is part of the 70-64 Democratic majority in the Hoiuse, whch slipped in 2020 from 75-59 in 2018. Thompson’s policy record? He never submitted a 2020 campaign theme survey conducted nationally by Ballotpedia.