MINNEAPOLIS – A free-for-all brawl ended the Ward 10 Democratic nominating convention for City Council. The convention chair, Sam Doten, called off the meeting amid the chaos. No choice, he said: “It was no longer safe.” Things had calmed before police arrived. A man in his 30s was taken at a hospital with injuries, albeit apparently not serious. An unjured woman was treated at the scene. What happened: City Council member Aisha Chughtai took the stage. Some supporters of her challenger, Nasri Warsame, jumped on stage, shouting, banging on tables and waving signs. Amid pushing and shoving, Doten repeatedly banged a gavel to quiet the melee. It didn’t work. Bridget Siljander, who was on the stage with other Chughtai supporters, later told a reporter: “I was scared some of us might die,” Siljander said she feared a stampede. The Chughtai-Warsame contest has been highly charged, mostly between young people on Uptown apartments and old-timers in Victorian streets.
Mayhem at the podium. Tempers lead to violence and stop Democratic nominating process.