A woman waving a Trump 2024 flag caused a security scare after she drove onto the Minnesota Capitol Mall in St Paul on Monday.
“Wild scene at the Minnesota State Capitol as a woman drives her vehicle onto the south mall, waving a Trump flag,” Theo Keith, a political reporter at KMSP-TV/FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, reported on Twitter.
The woman disrupted a press conference being held by Democratic State Representative John Thompson and his supporters at the Capitol building.
Footage of the incident showed the woman fleeing across the south lawn of the Mall before she was stopped on Martin Luther King Boulevard by police in unmarked squad cars.
According to local media reports, she shouted: “I am a white woman! There is only one race!” at state troopers after she was arrested.
Newsweek reported that the woman was held by Capitol security officials at the scene until paramedics and mental health specialists arrived.
Demonstrators reportedly complained that the woman was given special treatment because she was white.
“White privilege! White privilege! Treat her like she’s Black! Put her in handcuffs!” the demonstrators reportedly shouted.
The woman had waved a flag out of the driver’s side of the vehicle that read: “Trump 2024, Make Votes Count Again”.
Mr Thompson was holding the press conference to announce he would not be stepping down after allegations resurfaced that he had choked and hit a girlfriend on multiple occasions.
In a separate incident, Mr Thompson was pulled over by St. Paul police on July 4, and later accused officers of racial profiling. The city police chief demanded he apologise for the comments.
Top Democrats in the state including Governor Tim Walz had called on Mr Thompson to resign.
