Jury finds Rep. John Thompson guilty of obstructing the legal process in 2019 Robbinsdale incident

Jul. 21—State Rep. John Thompson was found guilty of obstructing the legal process when he shouted at police, barred a doorway he was told to vacate and resisted arrest in a 2019 incident in Robbinsdale.

A jury of six —four white women, one Black woman and one white man — reached the verdict Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court after deliberating for three and a half hours.

Thompson's obstruction conviction is a misdemeanor, which states that the defendant obstructs, resists or interferes with a peace officer while the officer is engaged in the performance of official duties. He was sentenced to six months probation. If he commits a crime during that time, he faces 30 days at the Ramsey County Correctional Facility. He was also fined $200 plus court fees.

"I met disrespect with disrespect," he said after the verdict regarding his actions in Robbinsdale. "Because I'm vocal, people take my voice and say I'm angry. I have every right to be angry."

Thompson shrugged in defeat as he spoke. "I don't want to fight this no more," he said. "My family has been through enough."

He said he plans to circle back with Robbinsdale police and try to make amends.

"I'm trying to end this cycle," he said regarding police and race relations. "Ok, maybe I could have used different words, but I respect the jury's decision."

The Robbinsdale arrest happened Nov. 21, 2019 at the North Memorial Health Hospital before Thompson, DFL-St. Paul, was elected to represent the city's East Side. The hospital was on alert due to a large, unruly group of people who turned out to see a loved one who had attempted suicide. When Thompson became belligerent with police and staff, the hospital closed its doors and called in police from other agencies.

The Robbinsdale incident lasted about an hour, from 11:30 a.m. to shortly after 12:30 p.m. Thompson was originally charged with trespassing because he had refused to leave the hospital when asked, but that charge was dismissed early on by Judge Michael K. Browne.

Thompson maintains he was upset over his friend's condition and that he was discriminated against because he was a Black man.

Video from two Robbinsdale police officers, surveillance video and video captured by Thompson himself show him shouting over police and hospital staff, standing in the emergency room door as an officer attempted to close it, and struggling with police as they sought to arrest him.

The jury requested to view all video again during deliberations.

"This case is about how Mr. Thompson brought his anger into a place of compassion and healing and shut it down," said Derek Archambault, attorney for the prosecution. "The law does not apply only to the calm and the dispassionate. Being angry, even justifiably so, is not a defense."

During closing arguments, Thompson's attorney Jordan Kushner painted him as a victim, likening his situation to Rodney King, a Black man who in 1991 was beaten by Los Angeles police officers during his arrest after a high-speed chase for driving while intoxicated.

"The principle here is that the officers were doing physically violent acts that were causing reactions," Kushner said. "It's not the blame of the person who was subject to those acts for resisting."

The prosecution objected to the comparison, saying the only similarity was skin color and that the defense was using it to distract from the actual incident. His objection was overruled.

Video shows three officers attempting to handcuff Thompson while he continued to shout, struggle and twist away from them.

Thompson has compared himself to activists Martin Luther King and Spike Lee in regards to race relations. He told the court Tuesday that he saw himself as a "protector of my community."

The prosecution was barred from bringing up specific actions and words used by Thompson during former protests, such as an Aug. 14, 2020 speech he made in Hugo where he said the city should burn.