City Councilwoman Vetaw and activist clash following contentious vote
Screenshots from video recorded by activist DJ Hooker shows their confrontation with City Councilwoman LaTrisha Vetaw. Facebook/DJ Hooker
By David Pierini, Editor
An activist and a Northside city councilwoman are accusing one another of assault after a tense confrontation on an escalator that the activist filmed on their cellphone.
The clash between DJ Hooker and Minneapolis City Councilwoman LaTrisha Vetaw took place at U.S. Bank Plaza last Thursday following a raucous council meeting where protestors banged on walls and cursed officials over the planned demolition of the Roof Depot on the city’s south side.
Vetaw told North News on Monday she plans to file a restraining order against Hooker.
“Talking and disagreeing is one thing,” she said. “This crossed the line because it became physical. You don’t get to try to physically harm me because you disagree with me. That’s not okay.”
Hooker declined to comment. Their attorney, Paul Bosman, accused Vetaw of trying to “get ahead of consequences she is responsible for,” including “putting a hand on Hooker’s chest” and breaking their phone case. No one was hurt.
Because the cellphone was in Hooker’s hands, the video does not show their body language. It mostly shows Vetaw’s face with fleeting glimpses of her staff trying to defend her. It also includes an off-duty police officer getting in between Hooker and Vetaw. The video eventually ends in protest as Hooker is escorted by building security.
Two things stand out from the video they posted to their Facebook page: Hooker was loud, persistent and profane in questioning Vetaw and and the Councilwoman kept warning Hooker to back away.
The city council was in recess when Vetaw said she entered a restaurant at US Bank Plaza, ordered lunch and exited once she saw a table full of activists who had been at the meeting.
They had attended the meeting to stop the city from raising the Roof Depot building to make way for a new public works facility. The building sits onto of an arsenic plume in the East Phillips neighborhood where more than 70 percent of the residents are Indigenous or people of color.
Residents, including people living in Little Earth, fear arsenic could be released during demolition. Protesters were outraged after a vote failed to stop the demolition. A judge last Friday temporarily halted demolition from proceeding this week.
Vetaw said Hooker got up from the table to question her and immediately began filming. His first question was about the vote, but the questions and comments that followed included calling her a terrible person and asking, “Why do you hate Indigenous folks?”
Over the course of the video, Vetaw tells Hooker “You better back up” and says, “You’ve got the wrong council member.” He pursued Vetaw to an escalator going up and got a step or two ahead of her. He continued to record and both tempers flared.
According to Vetaw, he held the phone so close to her that it touched her nose at one point. She felt her feet starting to stumble on her step.
The picture turns chaotic as Vetaw grabs his phone. Hooker demands she give back the phone, which she does after they are off the escalator and security steps in. He tries getting around security as continues to shout before he walks away.
“DJ is playing to his phone,” Vetaw said. “Why do you hate Indigenous people? That’s not a question. He’s trying to start something.
“We’re scared because things are happening all around the country, I’m aware of the two council members being gunned down in New Jersey. I’m aware of (U.S. Rep.) Angie Craig being attacked on the elevator in her apartment. You can’t verbally threaten me. That’s not your First Amendment right.”
Hooker is a high-profile presence at protests and marches and is considered a fierce fighter, especially when it comes to police violence.
He is a part of Communities United Against Police Brutality and recently has stood up to city leaders for the dismantling of homeless encampments. In 2021, he was among protesters at Loring Park who for two hours blocked a car carrying Councilwoman Andrea Jenkins. They refused to let the car move until Jenkins signed a list of demands about George Floyd Square, police oversight and other issues.
Bosman said Hooker, a former national chess champion, works in a library and teaches the chess to youth. He called Vetaw’s characterization of Hooker exaggerated.
“DJ was asking questions and filming and he also followed her up the escalator,” Bosman said. “But at least as far as I can tell, her story of abject terror doesn’t really line up with the facts.”
In all, three council members filed police complaints accusing protesters of intimidation.