ST. PAUL — Minnesota Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, said this week that he does not support government overthrow after a clip of him speaking about tyranny at an event last week
In a video that has been shared widely on X, formerly Twitter, Hudson and its references to a tyrannical government.
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“One of the things you’ll likely hear in November is reference to the Declaration of Independence,” Hudson said to activists in the audience. “It says that when a system of government becomes tyrannical, the people have not just the right, but the duty to change their form of government. Doesn’t say anything about waiting for two years for the next election. It doesn’t say anything about waiting until the next Supreme Court justice retires or passes away. Whenever we have the right and the duty to change it. So that’s, I’m glad you guys are going to be looking into that.”
Hudson was speaking at a Faith & Freedom event on Friday, Oct. 18, in Princeton. is a national conservative advocacy group; the event in Princeton was one of the local activists’ monthly meetings.
In response to the clip, the Minnesota DFL called on the Minnesota GOP to disavow the remarks from Rep. Hudson, saying he was expressing support to overthrow the government.
“The Minnesota Republican Party has embraced increasingly extreme rhetoric and lies about our elections for the sake of Donald Trump,” DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin said in the release. “I’m calling on Minnesota GOP Chair David Hann to disavow these remarks and to make it clear that he rejects the lies that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump in Minnesota. Defending the integrity of our democracy was a bipartisan issue before 2020, and it’s time we made it one again.”
Hudson told Forum News Service on Thursday that he believes his words were taken out of context. He said he was discussing plans for Faith & Freedom’s next meeting in November and that, at no point, did he discuss the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
“The event began with a preview of their next meeting, which takes place in November, where they’re going to have somebody coming to instruct them on a process for utilizing the common law to petition for redress of grievance, utilizing an obscure process involving legal notices and affidavits,” he said.
Hudson said on Thursday that he does not support what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol.
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“The law was broken, and the people who broke the law should be prosecuted,” Hudson said. “I think that the concern over Jan. 6 is a legitimate concern, and the concern over so-called election denial and the behavior that it can motivate is a legitimate concern.”
Hudson posted from his official X account at least twice on Jan. 6, 2021, saying and mentioning
When asked about the tweets, Hudson told Forum News Service on Friday that, "Biden won. But reducing it to the question of who won sidesteps the concerns about how."
Mixed reactions
While Hudson denies expressing support for overthrowing the government, other Minnesota Republicans have shown mixed reactions to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
In January of 2021, the Minnesota Legislature voted on a resolution condemning the Jan. 6 insurrection. Hudson voted in support, but voted in opposition, and Republican senators
Other Minnesota lawmakers have denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election results. In Congress, Republican Reps. Michelle Fischbach and the late Jim Hagedorn in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Minnesota state Rep. Jeff Doseth, running as a Republican for House seat 11A, has movement.
Hudson said he feels Democrats are using Jan. 6 to deflect concerns from Republicans around election security, referencing the in a car outside Edina City Hall recently.
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“There are no complaints that anyone is making about the administration of elections that justify breaking a law or justify what happened on Jan. 6,” Hudson said. “However, to continually deflect to that day as an excuse for addressing people’s legitimate election administration concerns … I think is a disservice.”
DFL Party Chair Martin responded, saying he feels Republicans are not just waging complaints regarding election administration but “lies” that Minnesota’s elections aren’t secure and that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
“Minnesota has the best-run elections in the entire country, and judges appointed by presidents from both parties — including Donald Trump — have unanimously ruled that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud happening in this country,” Martin said. “It's unfortunate that these types of conspiracy theories have now been mainstreamed by Minnesota GOP leaders like Walter Hudson — they are doing a disservice to our democracy and to their own supporters.”
The Trust Project
