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BEMIDJI 鈥� Unknown individuals participating in Monday鈥檚 Bemidji City Council meeting virtually interrupted the proceedings with hate speech and racial slurs, leading to the council ending its session early.

The Feb. 5 meeting began normally, with the council conducting the first readings of two ordinances and listening to a presentation by the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities.

Following the presentation, however, and as councilors began discussion, the proceedings were interrupted by individuals viewing the meeting online via Webex, with one person unmuting and immediately using racial slurs.

While this initial outburst was quickly quieted and business continued, the meeting was again interrupted minutes later by further hate speech and the addition of vulgar and disturbing images projected by the interlopers.

The council rapidly called for a recess, shutting down the online link while the situation was addressed.

After 20 minutes, the council cautiously came back into session, with Mayor Jorge Prince informing both the in-person and virtual audiences that any further disruption would lead to the meeting ending and being continued at a later date.

For a time the meeting continued without any problems, with the council continuing its discussion and moving into new business.

However, the same perpetrators of the initial interruptions returned, spewing racist and antisemitic language.

While under this barrage of hate speech, the council made a motion to pause the session and bring an end to the racist tirade. The motion specified that the meeting would be continued on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at the council鈥檚 next regularly scheduled session.

This is not the first time that racist and hate-filled language has interrupted a municipal body in Minnesota, with a notable incident occurring Similar incidents have occurred frequently enough that the League of Minnesota Cities sent out a memo to its members earlier this year to be on the lookout.

Because of this warning, the Bemidji City Council was not caught entirely off guard, something Prince noted.

鈥淭hings like this have been taking place at other city council meetings in the state of Minnesota, so I wasn鈥檛 entirely shocked,鈥� he shared. 鈥淚t was really unfortunate that this happened because we had important things we had to discuss.鈥�

Regarding the nature of the language used by those who interrupted the meeting, Prince shared his complete disapproval.

鈥淲hat I heard was very concerning, some of it was very hateful and laced with profanity. It has no place in the city or in city business,鈥� he said.

Providing some level of comfort, Prince shared his belief that it was unlikely any of those involved were doing so from Bemidji. Given the similar incidents across the state, Prince thinks it was likely done by people from outside of the community.

Nonetheless, it鈥檚 expected that some adjustments will be made to how individuals can view the council meetings to prevent similar incidents in the future, though no formal decisions have been made.

The council was able to complete some of its business before the disruptions, including two first readings of ordinances, a presentation and a payment to Northern Township.

The first ordinance will bring housing definitions into the city code that were mistakenly left out when the language was transferred from the Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board to the city. The second moves the administration of Bemidji鈥檚 short-term rentals to the authority of the rental department.

A presentation by representatives of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities outlined the legislative successes of 2023. These included an $80 million increase to local government aid statewide, with around $400,000 additional funds going to Bemidji, and a bonding bill.

The CGMC's goals for the 2024 legislative session include lobbying for funds to go to struggling emergency medical services that would otherwise be at risk of shutting down in rural areas and efforts to maintain local governments鈥� authority in development decisions.

The council also approved a final payment to Northern Township regarding the dissolution of the JPB, in the amount of $57,021.56.

The remaining items on the session鈥檚 agenda will be addressed when the meeting reconvenes on Tuesday, Feb. 20.