Frey Vetoes Resolution Supporting UMN Protesters Behind $67K Damage

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has vetoed a City Council resolution that expressed support for student protesters involved in the Oct. 21 occupation of Morrill Hall at the University of Minnesota.

The protesters — calling for a boycott of Israel — caused an estimated $67,000 in property damage, including the destruction of security cameras, broken windows, and barricaded entrances.

Their actions left campus staff feeling unsafe and threatened, according to University President Rebecca Cunningham.

The resolution, authored by Councilmember Robin Wonsley, urged the university to "rescind all academic charges, suspensions, and evictions of student protestors." It referred to the incident as "nonviolent campus activism."

The resolution was adopted on Thursday by a 7-6 vote.

In his veto letter, Frey criticized the resolution for minimizing the severity of the protest's impact on the university and its employees.

"If individuals opposed to abortion had engaged in the same disruptive, unlawful actions, or if members of the National Rifle Association had taken over a building, would the council stand behind them with the same resolution? We all know the answer," Frey wrote.