Governor Mark Dayton isn’t saying whether he’ll sign a bill increasing penalties on protesters who block freeways, airports or mass transit. Dayton supported a similar measure last session, but says there’s now talk about including pipeline protests. He says, “You could just foresee what they’re looking to do there, if the Enbridge project goes forward and people are exercising their constitutional rights to free assembly to object to that.”
It’s not in the bill headed to Dayton’s desk, but a measure traveling separately in the legislature would hold someone legally liable if they train protesters who then damage critical infrastructure. Backers say it’s an important public safety issue. Dayton says such a bill would likely be unconstitutional.
Here are the governor’s comments Monday: