Minnesota’s DFL Party called a state representative’s “fake news” Halloween costume “wrong” and “dangerous” in a statement released Thursday.
Republican Rep. Jeremy Munson (R-Lake Crystal) was spotted at the State Capitol Thursday morning wearing a “fake news” blazer and several press badges while carrying a reporter’s notebook. Munson hosted a mock legislative debate for a class of sixth-graders from St. Clair Elementary School later in the day.
.@jeremymunson took a walk through the Capitol Press Corps hall this morning in his fake news costume. It’s Halloween, we were all reminded. pic.twitter.com/RFQj93jsjG
— Dana Ferguson (@bydanaferguson) October 31, 2019
“Spooky attempt at overreach of the Legislature,” Munson wrote on Facebook, saying the sixth-graders debated a “state-wide ban on trick-or-treating for teenagers.”
“We didn’t want to leave you in the dark so a Fake News reporter was on the scene to capture the details,” Munson added.
DFL Chairman Ken Martin didn’t think Munson’s costume was appropriate for a young audience.
“It is crucial that we teach young Minnesotans about the importance of Democracy, and part of those lessons must include the role a free and independent press plays in educating the American electorate and holding our leaders accountable,” Martin said in a press release.
“Indoctrinating schoolchildren in the far-right conspiracy theory that our press regularly published ‘fake’ news is not only wrong, it’s dangerous,” he continued. “By attacking the press before a class of sixth-graders, Rep. Jeremy Munson has done a serious disservice to the children of St. Clair Elementary School.”
Martin concluded his statement by urging Munson to apologize to the school for his “stunt.”
“Munson’s stunt was beneath the dignity of his office, and he owes an apology to the students and parents of St. Clair Elementary, to his constituents, and to his colleagues in the Minnesota House of Representatives,” Martin said.
One of Munson’s fake press badges had the last name of a reporter from The Mankato Free Press on it along with the publication’s logo. Joe Spear, the editor of The Free Press, responded to Munson’s costume in an editorial published Thursday night.
“The Free Press has championed First Amendment rights for decades and we’ve developed a thick skin for any kind of criticism, but Munson’s attempt at humor did a disservice to the young students he was attempting to enlighten,” Spear said. “Even if his intentions were in the Halloween spirit, the optics of a state legislator wearing such a suit sends a message about delegitimizing a critical institution of democratic government. That’s not a civics lesson.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jeremy Munson” by Dana Ferguson.
