Minnesota Representative John Thompson (D-St. Paul) was ticketed for driving with a suspended license on Sunday. Thompson was pulled over for not having a license plate on the front of his car, but he claimed that the incident was racially motivated.
As was reported on 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, Thompson was speaking at a rally for Philando Castile, a Black man who was shot and killed after failing to follow police instructions while being arrested. Thompson said, “I’m still being profiled…too. In fact, I was just pulled over Saturday for a pre-textual stop…you don’t have a front license plate and I got a ticket for my license. Anyway, I thought we weren’t doing pre-textual stops here in this state, but we are. We’re still getting ‘driving while Black tickets here in this state. As a matter of fact, in St. Paul. So let’s just call it what it is, right?”
https://twitter.com/repmattdean/status/1413320288083849221
When he was pulled over, police learned that his driving privileges were suspended in 2019 because he was refusing to pay child support.
Thompson also did not hold a Minnesota driver’s license, despite having lived in the state for 18 years. He still held a Wisconsin license, even though Minnesota law states that if a person lives in Minnesota for over 60 days, they need to have a Minnesota license.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS allegedly checked records and found that Thompson’s driving privileges were reinstated on Wednesday, just three days after the incident. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that the privileges were reinstated after he paid his full child support. Thompson told the Pioneer Press that he does not have a Minnesota driver’s license and that he does not owe any child support.
Thompson did not immediately respond to The Sun’s request for comment regarding the allegations or his own claim of the traffic stop being racially motivated.
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network and The College Fix. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
Photo “Rep. John Thompson” by Minnesota Legislature.
