Minnesota
Shooter of two Minnesota lawmakers, families wrote ‘manifesto’ naming more officials
The home invader who shot two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses early Saturday — killing a top Democrat and her husband — wrote a “manifesto” containing the names of other elected officials.
Police found the document identifying “many lawmakers and elected officials” in an SUV decked out to look like a law enforcement squad, after confronting the suspect in a shootout outside DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman’s home, said Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley on Saturday. Investigators have alerted those who appeared on the list and are providing security where necessary, he said.
Police are searching for “people of interest,” said Bruley, but have not arrested any suspects in the shocking attacks at the homes of the two Minnesota lawmakers, igniting a manhunt and shelter-in-place order in Brooklyn Park, and a frenzy of panic and rumors as large-scale political protests against the Trump administration were planned for Saturday.
The unidentified suspect, dressed as a police officer, shot Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their Champlin home each “multiple times” early Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz announced in a solemn press conference.
As officers proactively went to check on Hortman, the 55-year-old top Democrat House leader who lived in a neighboring suburb, they encountered a suspect, who escaped after a gunfight with the officers, according to law enforcement officials.
Hoffman and his wife are out of surgery and still alive; Hortman and her husband are dead, Walz said.
“When our officers confronted him he immediately fired at officers and retreated back into the home,” Bruley said of the encounter outside Hortman’s home.
Bruley described a convincing police disguise being worn by the suspect, designed to exploit to manipulate their into the homes, including a Taser, badge and black body armor and driving a vehicle outfitted with emergency lights.
Minnesota
Minnesota woman detained by ICE needs emergency surgery for tennis ball-sized ovarian cyst, lawmakers say
Minnesota lawmakers are calling for the humanitarian release of a woman detained earlier this year, amid Operation Metro Surge, who is suffering from a tennis ball-sized ovarian cyst.
Federal immigration agents arrested 23-year-old Andrea Pedro-Francisco in Burnsville on Feb. 5, just days before she says she was scheduled to have surgery.
Pedro-Francisco moved to Minnesota seeking asylum with her mother back in 2019. Right now, she is being held in a detention center in El Paso, Texas.
State lawmakers — including practicing ER physician Sen. Alice Mann, D-Edina — held a news conference Thursday morning at the Capitol to push for Pedro-Francisco’s immediate release.
“An ovarian cyst this big can put weight on the ovary and cause the ovary to twist onto itself, cutting off the ovary’s blood supply. This is a medical emergency,” Mann said. “This can impact fertility, and we are talking about a 23-year-old. If not treated, this can lead to infection and even death.”
Also on hand Thursday was North Dakota-based pastor Ellery Dykeman, who said he met with Pedro-Francisco last week in the detention center. Dykeman said she looked thinner than he had seen her in pictures.
Dykeman said Pedro-Francisco told him she is forced to climb up to a third-level bunk despite immense pain extending from the right side of her abdomen to her back.
Earlier this month, Democratic Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig said her team is tracking 20 medical cases with improper care within ICE detention. A quarter of them have serious conditions, her office says.
WCCO has reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Minnesota
Minnesota weather: Rain and storms possible late Thursday
Minnesota weather forecast. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Most of Minnesota will be under a marginal risk of severe weather on Thursday, with rain and rumbles expected.
Thursday weather forecast
Local perspective:
A line of storms is expected to develop in west-southwest Minnesota on Thursday and grow in coverage as well as intensity tracking east into the early evening.
Large hail and damaging winds are the prevalent threats, but an isolated tornado is also possible along the line.
Isolated showers are expected to form in the western part of Minnesota on Thursday morning.
Rain chances in the Twin Cities area increase in the afternoon, as a line pushes through with possible thunderstorms.
Stay Sky Aware with FOX 9 for the latest.
The Source: This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather forecast.
Minnesota
TikToker’s ban from St. Paul parks lifted after appeal, agent says
A TikTok creator is no longer banned from parks in St. Paul, Minnesota, after appealing the city’s restriction, according to his agent.
St. Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez earlier this month accused Josh Liljenquist of going to Pig’s Eye Park to “harass, record and profit from vulnerable adults residing there without said individuals’ permission.” Liljenquist, who is known for giving away food and cash in his videos, denied the allegation.
On Wednesday, Liljenquist’s agent shared a new letter from the city.
“Based on an evaluation of the facts of this situation as they were relayed during your appeal meeting, I will be rescinding your ban from our parks, effective immediately,” the letter from Rodriguez read.
Rodriguez also wrote the city expects “all residents and visitors to our parks to abide by the rules.”
“Our responsibility is to ensure park spaces remain safe, respectful, and accessible for all, and we appreciate your partnership in that effort,” the letter read.
Liljenquist told WCCO he has only recorded at Pig’s Eye Park once, and it was with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office’s consent. He said he and his videographer always get consent from individuals they film, too.
Local organizations that work with people experiencing homelessness are split on Liljenquist’s impact. Sue Phillips, director of the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing, said his content “is exploiting people experiencing homelessness/housing instability.” Feeding St. Paul founder Michael Brendale, on the other hand, said, “Josh has changed many lives, taken people off the streets.”
Liljenquist told WCCO he films his efforts instead of making them private in hopes of “inspiring other people to do it, showing that it doesn’t take a lot of money, it doesn’t take a lot of resources to go out there and do something for somebody.”
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