The Minneapolis City Council, in an 8-5 vote, refused to renew liquor licenses for two hotels accused of housing ICE agents, delaying action to seek greater ‘public input’ in the process. A public hearing for residents to complain about the hotels is scheduled for February 17.
Canopy by Hilton, credit: Hilton
The hotels have been targets of protests because federal immigration officers were believed to be staying there during the immigration enforcement surge that brought 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota, when an agent killed Renee Good.
Even the city’s attorney told the council that (1) the hotels complied with liquor licensing laws, (2) are eligible for renewal, and (3) deny the licenses on the basis of housing federal employees is impermissible and they’d need other grounds.
If there’s any plausible argument, it’s that protestors don’t like the hotels and that the protestors themselves create a dangerous situation where on-premises alcohol could become a problem. Protests broke windows and graffitied the Depot Renaissance, and forced their way into the Canopy through an alley entrance before leaving.
The five council members voting against the delay suggested license renewals shouldn’t be used as a proxy fight over who stays at a hotel, that it’s discriminatory, and creates legal liability. City licensing staff said the hotels can keep serving alcohol in the meantime – the current licenses effectively remain usable pending final council action.
- A (brief) delay seems legal, while the hotels suffer no harm because they can serve alcohol in the interim. If a delay became extended, that could create a cloud of uncertainty which undermines the market value of the properties.
- Punishing a hotel for doing business with the federal government or for who its guests are is clearly illegal. And council statements make clear that searching for liquor law violations and findings that could condition approval is pretextual.
Renaissance, credit: Marriott
It never ceases to amaze me that city councils say they’re doing illegal things, but the point isn’t to sustain any decision but to be performative for voters.
Last thing those people need is alcohol.
if no illegal criminals in town, there will be no ice in town
When the city loses in court after tons of legal costs, it won’t even teach them a lesson, I’m sure.
Minneapolis is sick and tired of these invaders’ kidnapings, murders, and general harassment of citizens as well as non-citizens who have every legal right to be there. It’s too late for “good germans” to stop the stormtroopers, but I favor any and all nonviolent ways to express loathing for these heartless, faceless, soulless occupiers. 93% those seized by ICE have no criminal record anywhere. That said, I don’t know if alcohol licenses can be withheld from places in the service of evil or not. I guess that will be up to the courts.
Umm, Gary, that’s some nice sane-wash you got goin’ on there, but, it’s no longer ‘business as usual’ and ‘just follow the law/orders’ when our government starts murdering citizens with impunity… clearly, R’s aren’t solving anything, anywhere, and scapegoating, grifting, doubling-down, and planning to cheat to retain power indefinitely, won’t work well for them or anyone in the end.
This is one of those rare times I wish I were a lawyer…because I would sue the sh!t out of Minneapolis for so blatantly basing my liquor license on a political condition. Isn’t bribing the inspectors illegal? Well so is basing a liquor license on anything other than the actual serving of alcohol! This impinges upon the profitability and value of a hotel and to penalize these hotels for such blatant political reasons is extremely illegal and unethical. I would salivate at the notion of kicking their a$$ in a courtroom! Plus guess what! I would champion law abiding travelers and locals to patronize these 2 hotels to mitigate the political retribution the simple minded city council members are attempting to wage against them.
That’s right MN, teach the country a lesson by hurting your own businesses. Of course any headlines that don’t read Billion dollar fraud are welcome for that state.
The Depot could be hurt considerably as it does a number of weddings and receptions in their restored 1940’s reception area.
Hope saner head prevail, unlike the ridiculous and overwrought polemics championed above. I guess they prefer illegal alien criminals walking the streets and committing crimes against our citizens, and all others, regardless of legal consequence, if any by the local authorities.
DaveS –
Your statistic is bogus as I have never seen such a lie anywhere.
As for the uninitiated, the accurate statistic is those who have a criminal conviction or who are currently facing charges, not only those who are convicted of a crime.
In addition, the paper trail of those who crossed the border illegally, does not extend very far if they are using a false identity or alias or if they come from a jurisdiction that does not have accurate vetting methods so as to ascertain whether they had any criminal convictions in their home countries.
As for those who have been apprehended by ICE, I have seen figures as high as 70% with the metric I have advanced; not the paltry 7% advanced by the polemical apologist, DaveS. ,
Two things about me:
1. I don’t follow and harass law enforcement officers.
2. I haven’t been shot dead by any law enforcement officers.
@Chris
Funny how that works. I haven’t had a problem with law enforcement either. You can get on You Tube and watch literally thousands of videos from police cameras showing people resisting, fighting, running, ignoring, trying to disarm, etc. I’m willing to bet most of them are Democrats
Apparently, the city council of Minneapolis is more concerned about the terroristic minority of individuals who are impeding government officials from doing their jobs of curbing waste, fraud, an abuse by illegal migrant alien non-authorized residents in Minnesota, than running a city for the benefit of its people and economic health and development of the region.
VOTE those Bozo’s out in that crazy city council if there are enough of you who have not fled already from that place. I love the concept of “States Rights” but when a local government has been hijacked by Idiocracy through possible election corruptions, and outside foreign influence such as through Act Blue rigging elections then it really is unfortunate for the real citizens who count on true legal representation in their state and local elections.
I just wonder how long before this craziness starts affecting Delta and Sun Country’s hubs.
Some of these comments are absolutely hilarious. Reading right wing people foaming at the mouth about the “blatant illegality” of liquor license renewals while *Americans* are being murdered is truly jaw dropping.
Get out of your bubble and look at the bigger picture!
Seems Jefferson DaveS is adamant about continuing the rebellion. He proclaims he favors nonviolent ways, yet his rebels bite the finger off federal officers, impede their free movement, stone federal officers with rocks and increasingly seem to be arming themselves with firearms. According to a recent study “The stereotype of gun owners as only white, rural Republicans is changing; 41% of registered Democrats reported living in a household with a gun, up from 33% in 2019.” I suggest Democrats pay attention to how their last open rebellion ended lest enflamed Minneapolis-St. Paul wind up like burnt November 1864 Atlanta.
@Sean
Do what Chris says and there is no problem. Use a vehicle as a weapon. Fight officers while carrying a gun and your permit has been revoked, bad things can happen. Reference the YouTube library for thousands of police videos showing idiots like those in Minneapolis.
As has been demonstrated time and time again by this administration’s complete disdain for the rule of law, governments can do as they please any more and there is limited backlash.
In this case all the folks on here pearl-clutching it really sucks when the shoe is on the other foot, doesn’t it?
I don’t her any of you crying fowl over the bar in Minocqua, WI being harassed by local government because its owner is liberal. Guess that’s different.
Maybe the protestors, I’m sorry the people “protecting” Minneapolis, can set up one of their “papers please!” checkpoints at the entrance to the hotels as a compromise?
The Administration is pulling 700 of the masked and obviously poorly trained ICE agents out of MN.
Well done citizens of Minneapolis!
“I don’t her any of you crying fowl…”
Should their concern be directed towards chickens, turkeys or maybe ducks?
One side of this argument is hard working and clean cut. The other side screams like banshees and is festooned with multicolored hair, facial tattoos and enough piercings that they couldn’t get through a metal detector. The latter is who is running Minneapolis right now.
And no, ICE isn’t murdering anyone. Nor do “kidnappers” return their “victims” home, as ICE is doing. This is all crap and the city of Minneapolis has devolved into a disgrace that should be divided into two parts: CHAZ and West Mogadishu. The latter will be the more pleasant section..