Minnesota Democrat Party Chair Says Third Precinct Burning Was ‘Act of Pure Righteousness’

TOPSHOT - Flames from a nearby fire illuminate protesters standing on a barricade in front
Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty Images
Katherine Hamilton

A Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor-Party chair (DFL) seemingly promoted violence that occurred in the wake of George Floyd’s death by fawning over the burning and destruction of the city police department’s third precinct.

“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,” Minneapolis DFL Chair Devin Hogan wrote in a Southside Pride op-ed.

The violence at the Third Precinct led the police officers to evacuate the building before flames eviscerated the inside. A 23-year-old man was later sentenced to four years in prison for helping to start the fire.

In the op-ed, Hogan contended  “the cops started it,” referring to the riot. He wrote:

The youth of Minneapolis have grown up seeing the police murder people who look like them without consequences. They are out of f**ks to give. Deliberately antagonizing them was a cruel excuse to give an opportunity to knock heads. Everything that followed was a proportional response.

Hogan went on to say the rioters “declared themselves ungovernable and unilaterally took their power back.”

“The youth of Minneapolis carried all of this. The cops started it,” he wrote. “It is important to maintain this basic perspective while we live through the consequences. Things will continue to play out in understandable ways.”

The DFL chair further said the calls from the streets were “genuine liberation” and said the “work” continues until full liberation is achieved.

“Keep focus. Eyes on the prize. Remember the demand of the streets. The blood and treasure spent. This is our job. Minneapolis must answer the call. For real this time. For real for real. Do it for the kids,” he said.

Since the op-ed’s publishing on August 2, Hogan has faced backlash from his community and from within the DFL. DFL Party Chair Ken Martin was quick to distance himself from the radical rhetoric in an op-ed of his own in the Minnesota Reformer on Tuesday. 

Martin wrote:

I was appalled to read a recent op-ed by Devin Hogan, the Chair of the Minneapolis DFL, in which he calls the burning of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis a “genuine revolutionary moment” and an “act of pure righteousness.”

I condemn Hogan’s dangerous, violent and inflammatory rhetoric. Let me be clear: these comments reflect the views of one person, Devin Hogan. They do not reflect the views of the Minnesota DFL Party or the Minneapolis DFL Party, and they certainly do not reflect the views of any elected officials in our party with whom I have spoken.

DFL Senator Jason Isaacson also tweeted in opposition to Hogan’s op-ed.

“Just so people know, I never ever endorse violence as a solution to our problems. That is simply not how a democracy works,” Isaacson wrote.

However Hogan, who has since made his social media profiles private, doubled down on his stance in two tweets. Hogan tweeted:

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.Fetishizing decorum over substance is a hallmark of white supremacy. If antiracism offends your sensibilities the please use this moment to examine the role you play in maintaining and upholding the systems. Which side are you on?

According to the Tennessee Star, Hogan issued another tweet announcing he will be writing a weekly column for Southside Pride.

“To those upset with my new column in Southside Pride who won’t say anything to my face: the truth hurts. To the TV station writing a story about the mad people: I’ll be writing a column every month. Accurately describing reality is not a call to violence,” Hogan reportedly tweeted.

Martin expressed that the violence at the Third Precinct jeopardized the safety of police officers and the community and “further damaged an already fractured relationship” between them.

“Hogan’s logic — that violence can be “righteous” if the change we seek is not forthcoming — is reminiscent of the justifications offered by the deranged individuals who seek to murder abortion providers because they disapprove of Roe v. Wade,” he continued.

“One of the core tenets of American life is that, in a democracy like ours, we trade violence for ballots. We fight our fights in the court of public opinion and resolve those fights in the voting booth. Cheering on the burning of a police precinct erodes these values and deserves our condemnation.”

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