MINNEAPOLIS – Jury selection began in the trial of State Representative John Thompson, D-St. Paul, on a misdemeanor charge from an incident at North Memorial Hospital in 2019. The incident, in which Thompson led a group that charged the emergency room after a rumor that a friend had attempted suicide. The incident was a year before Thompson was elected to the Legislature. Jury selection was expected to take two days. Thompson, who is black, blames his arrest on racism. His attorney, Jordan Kushner, said Thompson is being persecuted because he’s outspoken where he sees racism. The hospital staff, Kushner said, was treating black people differently and in a racist manner.
