Alleged Assaults Shake Up Minnesota GOP Candidates As Election Day Looms
Virginia Kruta | Associate Editor
Two Minnesota GOP candidates are reeling from what they say are politically-motivated verbal and physical assaults on the campaign trail.
State Rep. Sarah Anderson says that she was attacked Sunday as she left her home to knock on doors. She approached a man who had been kicking over campaign signs.
CBS reported:
“I said, You cant do this! And he said, Yes, I can, Im an anarchist! I can do whatever I want! And I said, No, you cant, thats not your property,'” Anderson said.
Anderson tried unsuccessfully to videotape the encounter as the man backed her into the street, swearing.
“And he charged at me again, and he said, Go kill yourself, and I end up stepping here and theres traffic coming.”
WATCH:
Fellow Minnesota Republican candidate Shane Mekeland says that he was physically assaulted during a recent campaign event.
“On Friday evening, I was assaulted in Benton County. I suffered a concussion and the incident is now in the hands of law enforcement,” his Facebook post began.
According to Fox News, the Benton County Sheriffs Office confirmed that the suspect had been identified but not detained, and that the investigation is still open. Mekeland told reporters that officials had informed him that the alleged attacker confessed to the assault.
Mekeland, who claims he was sucker-punched, said that the attack caused him to rethink some things. “I was so overtaken by surprise and shock and if this is the new norm, this is not what I signed up for,” he explained. (RELATED: Maxine Waters: God Is On The Side Of People Driving Trump Officials From Restaurants)
Anderson says she is undeterred. “I refuse to be bullied and intimidated,” she stated.
Both, however, have chosen to implement safety measures during the final two weeks of the campaign in order to make sure staffers and volunteers do not find themselves in similar predicaments.
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