A Minneapolis state official who is a BLM activist has been accused of harassing cops who stopped his daughter for driving with expired license plates.
John Thompson – a former Democrat who is now an independent – has been accused of waving his official business card in an attempt St. Paul police officers suggested to intimidate them.
He is also said to have yelled at officers after a traffic stop in St. Paul on April 24 when his 26-year-old daughter, Larraja Austin, was pulled over.
Thompson accused them of racism and successfully persuaded the cops to let Austin drive without having to take a sobriety test or be arrested.
Officers taking part in a crackdown on bad driving dressed the beautician after watching her swerve and are said to have smelled weed in her car while doing so.
St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell condemned Thompson’s alleged behavior in a scathing Facebook post, writing: “It got ugly fast.
“While the officer was trying to get the driver – whose license was suspended and who was driving on two-year-expired licenses – to cooperate and other officers were assisting, the driver’s father pulled over in another vehicle, jumped out and started immediately to intervene by yelling at and questioning traffic control and posing as State Representative John Thompson.
The aforementioned State Representative John Thompson was elected to the state legislature in November 2020. Since his election, he has been embroiled in several scandals, including over previous crimes and his primary residence
Cops pulled Larraja Austin (pictured) over for driving with expired tags and allegedly smelling weed in the car. Her lawmaker father then arrived at the scene and is said to have tricked cops into not arresting the 26-year-old beautician
‘Here we go again.
It is an absolute disgrace – that an elected official would seek to intimidate and bully police officers, that he would abuse his official position, that officials doing their jobs endure illegitimate accusations of racism, that John Thompson still serves in the legislature.
“It’s a slap in the face to those of us – including our police officers – who are working in good faith to make our city safer for all. How often? How often do our officials have to be insulted? How often do lies have to come out?
Axtell continued, “Accountability is important.
“Let me be clear: my officers were placed in an incredibly difficult position and made the best decision they could at the time to de-escalate and avoid being unfairly vilified – again.”
Chief Axtell concluded by begging Thompson and his daughter to allow the officer’s body cams to be released to clarify what exactly happened during the traffic stop.
His department also wants Austin charged with not providing a sample.
St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell lashed out at Thompson’s alleged behavior on his Facebook profile on Monday – adding a shot of a card Thompson appeared to have given his officers to discourage them from arresting his daughter
Chief Todd Axtell said in a scathing Facebook post that he was upset that Thompson would be allowed to continue serving in the legislature after the April 24 incident
Chief Axtell said when the officer and her support tried to get Austin to cooperate, her father, State Assemblyman John Thompson, showed up.
According to the boss, Thompson began trying to “intimidate and harass police officers.”
Axtell said officers were accused of racism by Thompson while he handed out his business cards, which showed he was an elected member of the state legislature.
The boss said it was an “absolute disgrace” that Thompson would be allowed to continue serving in the legislature following his allegations.
Thompson was elected to office in November 2020. He represents over 42,000 citizens in District 67A of St. Paul.
Thompson rose to prominence following the 2016 shooting of his “best friend,” Philando Castile, in St. Paul
Under Minnesota law, one of the reasons for releasing bodycam footage is “to dispel rumor or civil unrest.”
While police were investigating the incident, Thompson’s daughter is accused of ignoring officers and making a video call while her father “continued to yell and scream in anger,” CBS Minneapolis reported, citing a police report.
The report said Austin refused to cooperate with officers and made a video call in front of them. Eventually, Thompson was allowed to take his daughter from the crime scene. She has not been charged.
In the summer of 2021, the St. Paul Police Department released footage of Thompson being pulled over and making similar allegations of racism against officers. Thompson said he was guilty of “fare dodging.”
This incident led to it being revealed that Thompson held a Wisconsin driver’s license.
With this revelation, the media discovered that Thompson had already been accused of domestic violence against him.
Following these revelations, Thompson was removed from the Democratic Farm Labor Party faction in the Minnesota legislature.
Thompson said in a statement after his ouster that he would continue to serve his constituents as an independent.
Thompson (C) marches with Black Lives Matter protesters outside the Brooklyn Center Police Headquarters in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on April 13, 2021. Thompson’s wife has previously come forward to say her husband has never abused her
Thompson has been accused of a series of domestic violence counts dating back to 2003. In one case, the alleged abuse took place in front of his children.
The state representative’s wife, Lea Austin Thompson, came forward in 2021 to say of her husband, “I was never abused. He never abused me.’
Thompson attended Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s speech at 6 p.m. the same day his daughter was pulled over.
The Democrat activist did not participate in a vote in the Legislature on the morning of April 25, instead voting remotely, Fox9 reports.
At the time of writing, Thompson has not publicly addressed the traffic disruption. He posted a video about fundraising for re-election on his official Facebook page.
According to a 2021 profile by St. Paul Pioneer-Press, Thompson rose to prominence following the murder of his “good friend” Philando Castile. While an article in Vice Magazine dubbed him Castile’s “best friend.”
On his official website, Thompson writes: “My family and I were always hard working and secluded, up until the day my friend and colleague Philando Castile was shot dead in a traffic stop. In that moment I knew I couldn’t remain silent any longer.’
On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was shot dead by St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul. Castile was 32 years old.
Yanez was later acquitted of second-degree manslaughter in the incident. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Castile’s family was later settled by the city for $3.8 million.