Minnesota
Minnesota family sues jail over son’s death in custody
A Minnesota family is suing a county jail alleging their son died in prison after staff refused to provide him with medical attention.
Lucas Bellamy, 40, died in July 2022 three days after he was arrested by the Hennepin county sheriff’s department. Bellamy’s family says that jail staff ignored their son’s desperate pleas for medical attention and signs that he was in agonizing pain.
“They watched, the clock ticked, minute by minute – until finally there was nothing left of him,” said Colleen Bellamy, Lucas Bellamy’s mother, during a 23 January news conference, according to Minnesota Public Radio. She said that her son struggled with alcohol and opioid addiction and was in and out of rehab for most of his adult life.
Bellamy was arrested in Hennepin county outside Minneapolis after a high-speed chase and was charged with fleeing police. He also faced existing charges of felony drug and firearm possession, driving while intoxicated, stealing property and multiple driving violations.
Upon his arrest, Bellamy informed police that had ingested a bag of drugs and was taken to the hospital, where he was monitored and released with instructions for jail staff to bring him back to the hospital if he developed any new concerning symptoms.
Nine hours after leaving the hospital, Bellamy became ill and started vomiting. Jail staff attributed his symptoms to possible withdrawal. He asked staff to administer Narcan, the drug used to treat opioid overdose, but the medication was not administered.
Bellamy was moved to a private cell, where he started refusing food. Surveillance footage shows Bellamy crawling around his cell that evening and keeling in pain as county staff observe him. He pleaded with staff to bring him to the hospital.
The next morning, a nurse gave Bellamy a portion of anti-acid medication. By noon, Bellamy was found unresponsive, lying facedown on the floor. An autopsy would show that he died of a perforated bowel.
An attorney from the family said that Bellamy “endured unimaginable pain and suffering”.
“Lucas should be here today with his family, and he is not because of the deliberate indifference exhibited by those who were charged with caring for him,” said attorney Jeff Storms in a statement.
The lawsuit accuses the Hennepin county jail as having the highest number of deaths since 2015 than any other detention facility in the state. An investigation by NBC-affiliate KARE found that there were 11 deaths in the jail between 2015 and 2021.
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Along with Hennepin county and the Hennepin Healthcare system, the lawsuit also named three nurses and a sheriff’s deputy who works at the jail as defendants. The sheriff’s department said it cannot comment on the litigation and expressed sympathy for Bellamy’s family in a public statement.
“We remain committed to professionally serving all people in our facilities and under our care with compassion, dignity and respect,” the statement said.
Bellamy’s father, Lou Bellamy, a prominent figure in the Saint Paul theater scene as the founder of the Penumbra Theater, told the Washington Post that the most painful thing is that “the hospital is literally right across from the jail, and somehow they couldn’t take my son there”.
During the 23 January press conference, Bellamy’s family cried and held each other as the surveillance camera footage of Bellamy in the prison was played.
“I’ve made my living as a theater director,” Lou Bellamy said at the news conference. “I know how to construct tragedy on stage. And I can tell you honestly, that I could not have built anything more callous, more disrespectful to humanity, human existence, than what I witnessed on that tape.”
Minnesota
Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota
Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 18 and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 94-88 on Thursday night.
Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 5-1 since Feb. 9 and 3-1 since the All-Star break.
Edwards, returning to the site of the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP, was 12 for 24 from the floor and sealed the victory with a step-back three-pointer over two defenders for a 92-88 lead with 42.9 seconds left.
Minnesota improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip.
Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 for the Clippers, who struggled from the outset with a season-low 38 points in the first half. Kris Dunn had 11 points for the Clippers (27-31), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time since December.
The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness. The Clippers shot 40.5% from the floor, including 18.2% (four for 22) in the second quarter. Minnesota shot 43.4% in the game.
The Timberwolves (37-23) scored just 15 points in the second quarter and still topped the Clippers, who had 11. Minnesota led 44-38 at halftime behind 12 points from DiVincenzo and 11 from Edwards.
The Clippers led by six in the third quarter and were up 68-63 heading into the fourth. Edwards’ drive and reverse layup put the Timberwolves up for good at 76-74 with 7:40 remaining.
The Clippers pulled within one three times in the last 2½ minutes, but Edwards answered each time. He scored the Timberwolves’ last nine points.
Up next for Clippers: vs. New Orleans on Sunday night.
Minnesota
Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters
A St. Paul church member has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a group of individuals, including journalist Don Lemon and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, unlawfully disrupted service last month as part of a coordinated political demonstration.
The complaint, filed by Ann Doucette in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleges that a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church interfered with her ability to worship and caused her to suffer damages, including emotional distress and trauma.
In addition to the former CNN anchor and Armstrong, the complaint names journalist Georgia Fort and activists Will Kelly, Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy. It also names St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen.
Doucette and seven of the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Doucette filed the complaint without the representation of an attorney. In an emailed statement to NBC News, Crews denied the lawsuit’s allegations “with empathy and compassion.”
The lawsuit accuses the group of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with religious exercise and trespassing.
“As a result of Defendants’ actions, the worship service was disrupted, congregants experienced fear and distress, and Plaintiff’s ability to freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship was unlawfully interfered with,” the lawsuit states.
All eight defendants are also facing federal charges for conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom at a place of worship and for interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom. Lemon has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying outside the court, “I wanted to say this isn’t just about me, this is about all journalists, especially in the United States.”
Fort, Crews and Lundy were released on bond and entered not guilty pleas, according to The Associated Press.
This is the latest legal action tied to protests in the Twin Cities, where tensions remain over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
According to the lawsuit, the demonstrators engaged in “coordinated conduct” by organizing meetings ahead of the “Operation Pullup” protest and promoting it on social media.
The lawsuit alleges that on the morning of Jan. 18, a coordinated group of individuals entered Cities Church, halting the worship service, and chanting “‘ICE Out!’ and ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!’” while obstructing aisles. Protesters could allegedly be seen “confronting the pastor and congregants in a menacing manner,” the lawsuit says, noting that their chanting and “aggressive gestures” caused “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” and caused children “terror.”
Demonstrators gathered at the church because they said its pastor, David Easterwood, was the acting director of an ICE field office in the city, the lawsuit says.
Lemon was arrested in January in California and accused of violating federal civil rights law after covering the protest on Jan. 18. He was released on a personal recognizance bond before a federal grand jury in Minnesota returned the indictment against Lemon and eight co-defendants, all of whom are also named in Doucette’s lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Doucette alleges that Lemon specifically livestreamed the protest, “noting congregants’ fear and distress, and appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption.”
Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney and activist, was also arrested for her participation in the St. Paul protest. Her arrest drew national attention after the White House shared on social media doctored photos where she appeared to be crying.
Minnesota
Man arrested, charged with threatening to kill a state senator
A Hubbard County man was arrested and charged after threatening to kill a Minnesota state senator on Facebook.
Court documents filed on Wednesday state the Minnesota State Patrol were investigating a threat posted by John Tobias saying that he would “kill every one of you treasonous [expletive] immediately” if he did not get money back that he claims he lost during the 2020 COVID shutdown.
Court documents go on to say that Tobias then called the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office asking for something to be done about “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ‘unconstitutionally’ shutting down the state due to COVID-19.
The Minnesota State Patrol contacted Hubbard County deputies regarding Tobias. Court documents state Hubbard County investigators were already familiar with Tobais after speaking with him regarding similar threats he made in Jan.
The charging documents state that investigators searched Tobias’ residence on Tuesday and found an arsenal of guns and 45 boxes of ammunition.
Tobias was taken into custody. During an interview with law enforcement, Tobias admitted to making the threat on Facebook. He also told investigators that “he did not have any intention of killing anyone, but admitted he was trying to get people’s attention,” according to court records.
In late 2025, Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol, who oversees Capitol security, told a panel of lawmakers that threats to lawmakers had doubled between 2024 and 2025.
Tobias made his first court appearance Wednesday morning and is expected back in court early next month.
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