MINNEAPOLIS — Top state Democratic lawmakers, including DFL Gov. Tim Walz, are calling on state Rep. John Thompson to resign following reports of domestic violence allegations in his past.
The four domestic assault cases, spanning a period between 2003 and 2009, included allegations that Thompson punched and choked women, sometimes in the presence of children. FOX 9 first reported the allegations Friday night.
"The alleged acts of violence against multiple women outlined in these reports are serious and deeply disturbing," Walz said in a statement. "Minnesotans deserve representatives of the highest moral character, who uphold our shared values. Rep. Thompson can no longer effectively be that leader and he should immediately resign."
Thompson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The first-term Democrat, who represents a district on the east side of St. Paul, has been in the spotlight since he was stopped by police while driving July 4.
The St. Paul Police Department said an officer pulled over Thompson because his car did not have a front license plate, and cited him for driving under suspension. Thompson, a longtime activist who is now pushing as a legislator to change laws around police encounters, said he was being profiled by law enforcement.
The stop prompted more attention to Thompson's past record, which also includes a 2019 misdemeanor charge of obstructing the legal process after he got in an argument with law enforcement over their treatment of the family and friends of a patient at North Memorial Health Hospital.
The stop also raised questions about Thompson's residency after he presented a Wisconsin license to the officer. He later revealed that he has never had a Minnesota license. Republicans have called into question the process for verifying his residency at the time he filed to run for office.
An October 2003 domestic abuse report, according to FOX 9, was filed in Superior, Wisconsin, when Thompson allegedly struck his girlfriend in the face in a supermarket parking lot in front of her 5-year-old daughter. Thompson fled police but eventually pleaded guilty to a lower charge of disorderly conduct.
A year later, Thompson allegedly attacked the same woman in her Eagan apartment, hitting her, choking and threatening her because she dialed 911. Children were present, according to FOX 9. In 2009, police were called after an argument broke out between Thompson and two women over a cellphone, during which Thompson allegedly showed his penis in front of one woman and her children, reported FOX 9. He has not been charged with domestic assault in any of these instances.
Along with Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent and state DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin all called for Thompson's immediate resignation Saturday, sending out releases within minutes of one another. Also calling for Thompson's resignation was U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, a former state legislator whose congressional district includes St. Paul.
"As a mom, advocate for children, and survivor and child witness of domestic violence, I know the deeply traumatic impact of the actions outlined in reports against Rep. Thompson," Flanagan said in a statement. "Someone who has allegedly demonstrated this violent pattern of behavior, especially in the presence of children, is unfit to serve in elected office."
Thompson got involved in politics after police fatally shot his friend Philando Castile in Falcon Heights five years ago during a traffic stop. He pushed last session to end traffic stops for low-level traffic or equipment violations, which he said disproportionately target people who are not white.
But in a joint statement, Hortman and Winkler said the recent reports around Thompson's behavior have gotten in the way.
"Rep. Thompson ran for office to advance progressive policies, but his recent actions, and unacceptable reports of abuse and misconduct, have become an impediment to that work," they said.
House Republican Minority Leader Kurt Daudt said members of his caucus will file ethics complaints against Thompson on Monday if he does not resign before then. Rep. Eric Lucero, R-Dayton, filed an unrelated complaint against Thompson, who called Lucero racist on the House floor. A hearing is scheduled for Friday on that complaint, which said Thompson violated House conduct.
"Rep. Thompson's disturbing domestic violence incidents, malicious accusations of racism against law enforcement and colleagues at the legislature, and disregard for state law makes it clear he is unfit to serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives," Daudt said in a statement.
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(Star Tribune staff reporter Erin Golden contributed to this report.)
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