Two Republican candidates in Minnesota were assaulted following a staffer for the Minnesota Democrat Party being suspended for allegedly calling for Republican beheadings.
The assaults are the latest in a wave of violent attacks against Republicans in the last several months.
In Minnesota, Shane Mekeland, who is running for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, said he was punched while eating at a restaurant in St. George Township.
Mekeland alerted the police after he said he was blindsided by an assailant at the restaurant.
Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said in a news release that officers are investigating the alleged assault, which Mekeland said took place on Oct. 12 between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., and that they have interviewed the suspect.
After getting hit, Mekeland said he fell backward and blacked out, hitting the floor.
State Representative Sarah Anderson of Plymouth said that after confronting a man who was kicking one of her campaign signs, he charged at her and punched her in the arm.
She said she barely escaped, hopping in her vehicle. “I put the car in reverse to just get out of there,” she said, noting that assailant identified himself as an anarchist and told her she should kill herself.
Plymouth police confirmed to KSMP that they’ve opened an investigation.
Staffer Suspended
The alleged assaults came after the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party suspended a staffer for one week after the staffer posted an incendiary Facebook post.In the post, the staffer, spokesman William Davis, said that on Nov. 7, election day, Democrats would “bring [Republicans] to the guillotine.”
Corey Day, executive director of the party, told Minnesota Public Radio that the comment was an inside joke among former co-workers but said it was still unacceptable.
“I have spoken with Will and about our social media standards and our expectation that he use appropriate judgment when commenting and posting. He regrets the post and has deleted it.”
Republicans in the state have called for Davis to be fired.
