Patriotic Protestors Fill Minnesota City Council Meeting After Councilors Ban Pledge of Allegiance
Richard Moorhead
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After a Minnesota city council voted to cut the pledge of allegiance, patriotic protestors showed up in force to display national pride and American imagery in defiance of the ban. St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, held its latest council meeting on Wednesday.
Municipal councilors for the city of 50,000 had earlier voted to end a time-honored tradition for governmental functions when they decided to cut the pledge.
The ban, which was passed unanimously, was put in place for the city government to better represent the city’s diverse community. Councilor Tim Brausen claimed they had “concluded that in order to create a more welcoming environment to a diverse community we’re going to forgo saying the Pledge of Allegiance before every meeting.”
A council member named Anne Mavity sponsored the rules change that omit the Pledge of Allegiance from council meetings. Under the new rules, the Pledge would be rendered little more than a ceremonial oddity, being taken out of the closet for rare instances such as Boy Scout troop events.
The move was met with a sharp backlash from patriotic Americans of St. Louis Park. The latest council meeting was mobbed by citizens outfitted in patriotic clothing, some of them carrying American flags and “Trump 2020” campaign materials.
Demonstrators who spoke before the council made it clear that most members of the city’s diverse population embraced the Pledge of Allegiance as patriotic Americans.
The Mayor of the city is said to be reconsidering the unusual ban in face of the backlash from residents. Mayor Jake Spano stated the decision to remove the pledge of allegiance is being reconsidered by the council.
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