A Minneapolis city councilwoman published the addresses, phone numbers and other personal contact information of people who took her to task for taking part in a Black Lives Matter protest that shut down the Mall of America on Wednesday.
Not only that, but Alondra Cano had the audacity to complain on social media that she was the one being targeted for abuse.
Cano, who was elected to office in 2013 on the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party ticket, published screenshots of the critical messages she received through the city’s website. The shots included the names, home addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers of the complainants along with their messages for Cano.
The complaints do not seem overly hostile or personal. Instead, they were merely critical of Cano’s participation as a public official in the so-called “Black XMas” demonstrations at Bloomington’s Mall of America, one of the largest in the nation.
Cano took part in the peaceful yet disruptive demonstration even though a county judge ruled against organizers on Tuesday, saying that the mall’s owners would have a right to arrest demonstrators who refused to leave the shopping center.
The activists, who had advertised the event on social media, planned to protest several police-involved deaths, including last month’s shooting of Minneapolis native Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old black man who was fatally shot by police responding to an assault complaint. Four activists were arrested during the protests at the mall, and stores shut down for around an hour as police cleared the area. Activists later protested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport, where they blocked traffic and caused delays.
One person who contacted Cano asserted that her participation in the protests made her “unfit to be a Minneapolis City Council member.” And a woman told Cano that she should be dismissed for “blatantly disregarding” the judge’s order against the demonstration.
“What a great role model you aren’t,” the woman wrote.
“Shame on you,” one man chided. “You are the reason I choose not to do business in Minneapolis.”
Cano posted the messages on Wednesday afternoon, prompting a heated response on social media. She attached her own comments to the posts. In one, she wrote: “hope 1 day U can understand Y #BlackLivesMatter. Sincerely, Council Member who’s not resigning. #BlackXmas2”
Screen grab of one tweet posted by Alondra Cano. (redacted)
Rather than complying with calls to remove the posts of the complainants’ personal information, Cano, who said in an interview in 2013 favorably cited Marxist guerilla Che Guevara, complained that she was being “targeted” for supporting Black Lives Matter.
She also indicated that she was allowed to post the information on social media because she was contacted through a system which has records available under the Minnesota Data Practices Act.
“Data practices requests are helpful in exposing racism,” Cano wrote, implying that the people who contacted her are racists.
Not surprised that Im being targeted 4 supporting today's #BlackLivesMatter event. Data practices requests are helpful in exposing racism.
— Alondra Cano (@People4Alondra) December 24, 2015
One of the men doxed by Cano told The Daily Caller that he has contacted an attorney to find out if the councilwoman violated the Data Practices Act.
Update: Cano deleted the tweets containing her constituents’ information after this article was posted. She also blocked TheDC from viewing her Twitter account.
“At minimum her actions seem abnormal, unprofessional and irresponsible,” said the man, who asked that his name not be used.
He also called Cano’s office shortly after 5 p.m. local time to request that she remove the postings. On a voicemail, he said that he felt her actions were unprofessional “and potentially illegal.”
The man said that while he believes that Cano has the full legal right to participate in protests, he felt that it was irresponsible for an elected official “to create problems for neighboring police agencies that already have plenty to do.”
He also said that Cano’s actions send “a very clear message that if you disagree with me, you’d best keep it to yourself” and that “if you’re stupid enough to contact [her], you’d best falsify your identity because [she’s] going to publicly release it.”
Laurie Grady, whose information was also published, says that Cano needs to be held accountable.
“I’m appalled!” she told TheDC through email. “Very sad that because I disagree with a government official with her actions [my information] goes viral.”
“I will not let this go.”
Additional details have been added to the article.