Press Release

Less than a day after the mandate went into effect, Minnesota GOP leaders appeared maskless at an indoor event in Brainerd

Within less than a day of Minnesota’s mask mandate going into effect in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Minnesota Republican Party openly flouted the mask order, posting photos on social media of maskless attendees at their indoor summer retreat in Brainerd.

The Minnesota Republican Party’s violation of the mask mandate comes despite a recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the United States, despite the fact that 85% of Minnesotans approve of mask-wearing, and despite the advice of medical experts like the Mayo Clinic who’ve stated:

“A cloth mask is intended to trap droplets that are released when the wearer talks, coughs or sneezes. Asking everyone to wear cloth masks can help reduce the spread of the virus by people who have COVID-19 but don’t realize it.”

On Friday, the United States experienced over 1,000 COVID-19 deaths for the 4th day in a row, the highest daily death toll the nation has seen since May. Across the nation, almost 150,000 Americans have died due to the deadly virus.

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement:

“The Minnesota Republican Party proved they care more about political posturing than people’s lives when they violated our state’s mask mandate and encouraged others to do the same by example. Time and time again, medical experts have stated that wearing a mask can help slow the spread of COVID-19 if enough people do it, but the Minnesota Republican Party would rather pander to far-right extremists than listen to experts during a pandemic.

“After spending years trying to take health insurance away from hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans, the Republican Party of Minnesota is now refusing to help stop a virus that has killed almost 150,000 Americans. It is more clear than ever that the people of Minnesota must defeat this dangerous and extremist Party at the ballot box in November.”