The chairman of the Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is defending his previous statement in support of burning down a city police building, saying that he valued “substance” over “decorum.”
Devin Hogan, the Minneapolis chairman for the DFL, wrote an article on Aug. 2 in support of protesters who set the city’s Third Precinct police station on fire last May, arguing it was an “act of pure righteousness” in the face of the murder of George Floyd earlier that month.
“Like it or not, setting the Third Precinct on fire was a genuine revolutionary moment. An act of pure righteousness to open new worlds of understanding,” Hogan wrote. “The people declared themselves ungovernable and unilaterally took their power back. The largest international human rights movement in modern history had begun. The youth of Minneapolis carried all of this. The cops started it.”
‘THE DEPARTMENT IS ON FIRE’: MINNEAPOLIS POLICE PRECINCT SET AFLAME BY PROTESTERS
Protesters set the Minneapolis Third Precinct police station on fire on May 28, 2020, during riots over the death of Floyd, a black man. Floyd died after being detained by former officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of his murder after kneeling on Floyd’s neck for several minutes.
On Monday, Hogan defended his initial comments in a message to the media, dismissing outrage for his article.
“The truth hurts. Accurately describing reality is not a call to arms. Explaining the conditions of violent repression with the reasons why and how people react to that oppression is not condoning violence,” he wrote.
Hogan accused those who took issue with the arson of the police station of supporting white supremacy and encouraged those who were upset by the incident to examine their own biases.
“Fetishizing decorum over substance is a hallmark of white supremacy. If antiracism offends your sensibilities then please use this moment to examine the role you play in maintaining and upholding these systems. Which side are you on?” Hogan continued.
In his original article, the DFL chairman argued that the people of Minneapolis had become desperate and defensive after Floyd’s murder and that the destruction was a “proportional response” to police discrimination.
“The youth of Minneapolis have grown up seeing the police murder people who look like them without consequences. They are out of f***s to give. Deliberately antagonizing them was a cruel excuse to give an opportunity to knock heads. Everything that followed was a proportional response,” he wrote.
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Hogan accused those offended by the arson of having “lizard brain emotions” that distracted them from injustice.
“Recognize the patterns. Counterinsurgency and genuine conspiracy used to diffuse movements. Manufacturing consent in the media by activating lizard brain emotions that distract from the issues. The constant surveillance, hyper-militarization and macho bulls*** to give the exurbs a sense of pathetic comfort – it’s all connected. It’s meant to burn you out.”
