A Minneapolis state representative who’s a BLM activist has been accused of bullying cops who pulled his daughter over for driving on expired tags.
John Thompson – a former Democrat who’s now an independent – was accused of brandishing his official business card in what St Paul cops suggested was an attempt to cower them.
He is also said to have screamed at officers following the traffic stop in St Paul on April 24, when his 26 year-old daughter Larraja Austin was pulled over.
Thompson accused them of racism, and successfully managed to persuade the cops to let Austin drive off without being made to perform a sobriety test or arrested.
Officers taking part in a crackdown on bad driving pulled the beautician over after watching her swerve, and are said to have smelt weed in her car on doing so.
Condemning Thompson’s alleged behavior in a blistering Facebook post, St Paul Chief of Police Todd Axtell wrote: ‘It turned ugly fast.
‘While the officer was attempting to get the driver—whose license was suspended and who was driving with tabs that had been expired for two years—to cooperate and other officers backed her up, the driver’s father pulled up in another vehicle, jumped out and immediately began interfering by yelling and questioning the traffic stop and identifying himself as State Representative John Thompson.
State Rep John Thompson, above, was elected to the state legislature in November 2020. He has been embroiled in multiple scandals since his election including over previous criminal offenses and where his primary residence is located
Cops pulled Larraja Austin, pictured, over for driving on expired tags, and are said to have smelt weed in the car. Her lawmaker dad then arrived on the scene, and is said to have bullied cops into not arresting the 26 year-old beautician
‘Here we go again.
It’s an absolute shame—that an elected official would attempt to intimidate and bully police officers, that he would misuse his official position, that officers doing their jobs should have to endure illegitimate claims of racism, that John Thompson is still serving in the Legislature.
‘It’s a slap in the face to those of us—including our police officers—who are working in good faith to make our city safer for everyone. How many times? How many times do our officers have to be berated? How many times do lies have to come to light?
Axtell continued: ‘Accountability matters.
‘I want to be clear about this: My officers were put in an incredibly difficult position and made the best decision they could at the time to de-escalate and avoid being unfairly vilified—again.’
Chief Axtell concluded by imploring Thompson and is daughter to allow the release of the officer’s bodycams in a bid to clear up what exactly happened during the traffic stop.
His department also wants Austin charged with failing to provide a sample.
St Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell ranted over Thompson’s alleged behavior on his Facebook profile Monday – and included a shot of a card he says Thompson gave his officers in what appeared to be an attempt to scare them off arresting his daughter
Chief Todd Axtell said in a blistering Facebook post that he was upset that Thompson is allowed to continue serving in the legislature following the April 24 incident
Chief Axtell said as the officer and her back up attempted to get Austin to co-operate, her father, State Rep. John Thompson showed up.
According to the chief, Thompson began attempting to ‘intimidate and bully police officers.’
Axtell said that the officers were accused of racism by Thompson while he handed out his business cards that showed he was an elected member of the state legislature.
The chief said that it was an ‘absolute shame’ that Thompson is continued to be allowed to serve in the legislature following his accusations.
Thompson was elected to his office in November 2020. He represents over 42,000 citizens in St. Paul’s District 67A.
Thompson ‘rose to prominence’ following the shooting of his ‘best friend’ Philando Castile in St. Paul in 2016
According to Minnesota law, one of the reasons allowing for the release of bodycam footage is to ‘dispel rumor or unrest.’
While police were dealing with the incident, Thompson’s daughter is accused of ignoring officers and having a video call while her father ‘continued to yell and scream in an irate fashion,’ CBS Minneapolis reported citing a police report.
The report said that Austin refused to co-operate with officers and made a video call in front of them. Eventually, Thompson was allowed to take his daughter away from the scene. She was not charged.
In the summer of 2021, the St. Paul Police Department released footage of Thompson being pulled over and making similar allegations of racism against officers. Thompson said that he was guilty of ‘driving while black.’
That incident led to it being revealed that Thompson held a Wisconsin driver’s license.
That revelation saw the media discover that Thompson had previous domestic abuse allegations levelled against him.
Following those revelations, Thompson was removed from the Democratic Farm Labor party caucus in the Minnesota legislature.
Thompson said in a statement after his expulsion that he would continue to serve his constituents as an independent.
Thompson (C) marches with Black Lives Matter protesters outside the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on April 13, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Thompson’s wife has previously come forward to say that her husband never abused her
Thompson was accused of a series of domestic abuse incidents dating back to 2003. In one instance, the alleged abuse took place in front of his children.
The state rep’s wife, Lea Austin Thompson, came forward in 2021 to say of her husband, ‘I have never been abused. He never has abused me.’
Thompson attended Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s State of the State speech at 6 p.m. on the same day that his daughter was pulled over.
The Democratic activist did not attend a vote at the legislature on the morning of April 25 but did vote remotely, reports Fox9.
At the time of writing, Thompson has not addressed the traffic stop publicly. He did post a video on his official Facebook page regarding fundraising efforts for re-election.
Thompson rose to prominence following the killing of his ‘good friend’ Philando Castile, according to a 2021 St. Paul Pioneer-Press profile. While a feature in Vice Magazine referred to him as Castile’s ‘best friend.’
On his official website, Thompson writes, ‘My family and I have always worked hard and kept to ourselves until the day my friend and co-worker Philando Castile was shot and killed during a traffic stop. At that moment, I knew that I could no longer remain silent.’
On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was shot dead by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul. Castile was 32 years old.
Yanez was later acquitted of second-degree manslaughter in the incident. A wrongful death suit brought by Castile’s family was later settle by the city to the tune of $3.8 million.
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