Mike Freeman recall, Hennepin County, Minnesota (2020)
| Hennepin County Attorney recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Minnesota Minnesota recall laws County official recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Mike Freeman from his position as the Hennepin County Attorney did not go to a vote in 2020. The effort began in June 2020, after Minneapolis resident George Floyd died while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department.[1] Video of the arrest, which occurred on May 25, 2020, showed Floyd on the ground with one of the officers kneeling on Floyd's neck.[2][3]
On May 29, 2020, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced the arrest of former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin, who at the time was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.[4] Two days later, on May 31, 2020, Governor Tim Walz announced that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison would step in to lead the case.[5]
Kathleen Cole, an organizer for the recall effort, said that Freeman had "violated his ethical duties, committed malfeasance, and made it harder to secure justice for George Floyd and his family." A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said the office would not be commenting on the recall.[1]
Freeman won re-election to a four-year term with 53.98% of the vote in the nonpartisan general election on November 6, 2018, defeating Mark Haase.[6]
Recall supporters
On their website, recall supporters published the following statement about the recall effort:
| “ | When white cops kill Black people, Mike Freeman protects them. He protected the cops who killed Jamar Clark. He protected the cops who killed Thurman Blevins. And he’s protecting the cops who killed George Floyd.
This is a pattern. Mike Freeman has violated the constitutional rights of all Black residents of Hennepin County by denying them equal protection of law. White cops and Black residents know that Mike Freeman will protect cops who kill Black folks. Over the 20+ years that Freeman has been county attorney, he’s developed a tight relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department. They’re so close, he can’t be trusted to be impartial when it comes to cases that involve police violence. Time and again, when Freeman is supposed to be prosecuting cops, he talks and acts more like their defense attorney. He uses his discretion to dismiss cases and file charges he knows won’t get a conviction. And he’s doing it again. When he filed the charges against Derek Chauvin, he chose charges against him that will be dismissed, and that protect the other cops from being charged. He included language that had no other purpose than to excuse the actions of the officers. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he went on to hold a press conference in which he claimed that evidence existed that would show they cops weren’t guilty—but no such evidence exists! His reckless comments to the media have tainted potential jurors and will make it much harder for us to get Justice for George Floyd. Mike Freeman has shown time and again that he can’t be trusted to hold the police accountable. |
” |
Recall opponents
A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said the office would not be commenting on the recall effort.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Minnesota
Recall supporters would have had to collect 126,522 signatures from registered voters in the county to get the recall on the ballot.[1][9]
See also
- Government of Hennepin County, Minnesota
- Municipal elections in Hennepin County, Minnesota (2018)
- Recall campaigns in Minnesota
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- County official recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 KSTP, "Local organizers to circulate petition calling for recall of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman," June 3, 2020
- ↑ CNN, "4 Minneapolis cops fired after video shows one kneeling on neck of black man who later died," May 27, 2020
- ↑ CBS News, "Video shows Minneapolis cop with knee on neck of motionless, moaning man who later died," May 27, 2020
- ↑ Pioneer Press, "Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin charged with murder in death of George Floyd, arrested by BCA," May 29, 2020
- ↑ Star Tribune, "Walz: Minnesota attorney general to take lead in Floyd case," May 31, 2020
- ↑ Hennepin County Elections, "Election results: 2018 General," accessed June 15, 2020
- ↑ recallfreeman.org, "Home," accessed June 15, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ recallfreeman.org, "FAQs," accessed June 15, 2020
