Tina Smith

Yesterday we saw a group of protesters go into the city's church to protest a pastor that they believe is an ICE agent that has of course generated considerable criticism from those who say this was a desecration of a place of worship.

Would you urge protesters to do more of what we're seeing here or do you think that is counterproductive for what they're trying to achieve?

Well, I see a street that I have driven down myself probably hundreds of times.

It's only a couple of miles from where I live and the street that I visited today.

First of all, you can see from this video that it is a lie to say that the officer was run over.

And second of all, I could say having

You know, I worked at the city of Minneapolis.

I was the chief of staff.

I've worked closely with law enforcement in my roles at state and local government.

And I have never seen anybody described as protocol holding a cell phone and taking video while you are simultaneously shooting a gun that ends up killing somebody.

It's kind of unbelievable.

After 20 years of hard and rewarding work in the public sector, I'm ready to spend more time with my family.

When I say I want to spend more time with my family, I actually mean it because I really like my family.

But I've also said a few other things about why I'm leaving.

You know, I made the decision not to run for re-election, you know, in December, January of 2024, 2025.

And then everything that has happened this year has certainly not made me wonder whether I made the right decision.

I mean, I had, you know, this horrible political assassination of my dear friend, Melissa Hortman, the Speaker of the Emerita of the Minnesota House.

We had the

shooting of the Annunciation School, which is literally 10 blocks from where I live.

And so the reality of these political attacks, and of course, in this moment, fueled by the President of the United States, who just a couple of weeks ago said that two of my colleagues and four members of the House of Representatives should be tried for treason and executed.