A Ramsey County court requested this week that the state of Minnesota suspends State Representative John Thompson’s (D-Forest Lake) driver’s license after failing to pay a fine and a late fee. Thompson was pulled over on July 4 and given a traffic citation. During the stop, it was also uncovered that his license was suspended.
According to the Star Tribune, “Thompson received a late payment advisory in August after he failed to pay a $286 fine for the citation and has since added $30 in late fees as of Monday.”
As reported by The Minnesota Sun, Thompson was pulled over for traffic violations in the early morning hours of July 4. Thompson proceeded to accuse the St. Paul police officer of racial profiling and appeared to try to use his position as a representative to get out of the ticket.
It was discovered that Thompson was also driving with suspended privileges for allegedly failing to pay child support. Thompson’s privileges were mysteriously reinstated later in July. As reported by The Sun, “Thompson also did not hold a Minnesota driver’s license, despite having lived in the state for 18 years. He still held a Wisconsin license, even though Minnesota law states that if a person lives in Minnesota for over 60 days, they need to have a Minnesota license.”
Those allegations led to a discovery of abuse allegations. There were five police reports from 2003 until 2011. As reported by The Sun, “Representative John Thompson has challenged the authenticity of the abuse allegations brought against him. Thompson has become the focal point in Minnesota news after it was discovered that he has never held a Minnesota driver’s license and that his Wisconsin license was suspended for failing to pay child support.”
It was also reported that Thompson later went and apologized to the police officer that he accused of racially profiling. However, Thompson himself came back and denied this. Previously reported by The Sun, “Representative John Thompson said in an interview with the Star Tribune on Sunday that while he did speak with the officer who pulled him over, he did not apologize.”
Thompson was also recently charged with a misdemeanor for obstruction. He caused a disturbance in a hospital and law enforcement needed to be called. As reported by The Sun, “Thompson called the situation ‘discriminatory,’ but a jury found him guilty of an obstruction misdemeanor.”
Thompson also had an ethics complaint filed against him in July. The ethics complaint reads, “Rep. Thompson was ruled out of order and subsequently interjected, attacking Rep. Lucero by shouting ‘I know you’re a racist!’”
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network. Follow Hayley on Twitter or like her Facebook page. Send news tips to [email protected].
