Minneapolis Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, the son of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, “officially” declared his support for Antifa Sunday.
Ellison’s declaration of support for the extremist group came in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States would be declaring Antifa a domestic terrorist organization.
“The United States of America will be designating Antifa as a terrorist organization,” the president wrote on Twitter Sunday.
Responding the to the tweet, Ellison claimed that “white power terrorists” were the ones responsible for bringing anarchy to his city.
“I hereby declare, officially, my support for Antifa,” said Ellison. “Unless someone can prove to me Antifa is behind the burning of black and immigrant owned businesses in my ward, I’ll keep focusing on stopping the white power terrorists [that] are actually attacking us.”
I hereby declare, officially, my support for ANTIFA
Unless someone can prove to me ANTIFA is behind the burning of black and immigrant owned businesses in my ward, I’ll keep focusing on stopping the white power terrorist THE ARE ACTUALLY ATTACKING US! https://t.co/m6jxtDYmTi
— Jeremiah Ellison (@jeremiah4north) May 31, 2020
The senior Ellison photographed himself in 2018 holding a book called “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook” and said it would “strike fear in the heart of Donald Trump.” He eventually deleted the post from his social media and addressed the matter during a Sunday press conference.
Given that this guy glorifying the Antifa handbook is Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison I doubt he's going to be telling the truth about Antifa's involvement any time soon pic.twitter.com/6zqBhtfkm4
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) May 30, 2020
“It means nothing. I was at a book store and I saw a book. It means nothing. It’s just complete diversion and it’s nothing,” said the attorney general.
Ellison then addressed his son’s comments during an interview with CNN Monday morning.
“I think that was a comment about the absurdity of the president’s comment more than anything else,” he said. “We don’t see what the president’s talking about. I don’t think the president sees what he’s talking about.”
MN AG Keith Ellison responds to son's Antifa statement: "That was a comment about the absurdity of the President's comment more than anything else." pic.twitter.com/B72YCULcII
— The Hill (@thehill) June 1, 2020
U.S. Attorney General William Barr said Sunday that the regional Joint Terrorism Task Forces of the FBI have been directed to locate and apprehend Antifa leaders.
“Federal law enforcement actions will be directed at apprehending and charging the violent radical agitators who have hijacked peaceful protest and are engaged in violations of federal law,” Barr said in a statement. “The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jeremiah Ellison” by Jeremiah Ellison.
