Minnesota Republicans are drawing a hard line after a campaign dinner was disrupted by protesters carrying a sign that invoked the Ku Klux Klan while Lisa Demuth, the state’s first Black female House speaker, was speaking. GOP leaders say the stunt crossed from protest into intimidation, and they are putting pressure on Democrats to condemn it without hedging or delay.
The clash happened during the Lincoln Reagan Dinner in Eagan, where the mood shifted fast as demonstrators moved toward the front of the room with a sign reading “RepubliKKKan Party.” GOP Chair Alex Plechash said the scene was not just rowdy opposition but a deliberate attack aimed at a Black Republican leader in a setting meant for party fundraising and speeches.
Plechash described the interruption as a calculated show of contempt. In a statement posted to X by the Republican Party of Minnesota, he said, “Last night, radical protesters stormed the stage at our Lincoln Reagan Dinner and held up a KKK symbol while Speaker Lisa Demuth spoke,” making clear that the party viewed the incident as more than a political protest.
He went further, arguing that the message was especially ugly given the target and the venue. “Let’s be clear about what happened. Left leaning protesters aimed a symbol of racial terror at a Black woman leader, at a dinner named for the president who ended slavery,” he said, putting the focus squarely on race, symbolism, and the deliberate choice of disruption.
The group identified as Sunrise Movement Twin Cities later claimed responsibility for the interruption. The organization said it was protesting Republican policies it believes hurt immigrants and marginalized communities, and it also denied any connection to Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
Video from the event showed several protesters heading toward the front with banners, including one with the letters “KKK” highlighted in red. One protester could be heard shouting, “You love Trump and you will not stand up for Minnesotans,” as Demuth remained on stage holding a microphone.
Security eventually escorted the demonstrators out, and the room answered with chants of “Lisa” and then “USA.” According to Plechash, the protesters had bought tickets and made it past security checks, which made the disruption feel even more brazen to the people inside.
The chairman said this was not the only disturbance of the night. He said the event was interrupted first during remarks by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya and then again while Demuth was speaking, with roughly three or four protesters pushing forward carrying banners during the second disruption.
Even so, Plechash said the episode was brief and did not appear to pose a physical threat. He estimated the interruption lasted about 30 seconds, though the point was not the length of the disruption but the attitude behind it, which he said reflected a willingness to bring racial hostility into a political setting.
Plechash also said Eagan police issued trespass orders after the incident and that possible charges were still being looked at. That part matters because it turns a noisy protest into a question of accountability, especially when the group involved says it disrupted a fundraiser on purpose.
The GOP chair did not limit his criticism to the protesters. He also named Minnesota Democrats, including the DFL, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and pressed them to say plainly that this kind of behavior has no place in public life.
“Intimidation, criminal behavior, and racist rhetoric have no place in Minnesota politics,” Plechash wrote. “Republicans debate ideas, and we’d welcome the DFL to show up and do the same,” he added. “Every hour they stay silent says something. Their silence is deafening.”
Demuth, who won the GOP gubernatorial primary in August, is now running in a high-stakes race to succeed Gov. Tim Walz. The confrontation at the dinner adds another sharp edge to an already tense campaign atmosphere, where party events are becoming less about polished speeches and more about whether people can even finish one.
