Tim Walz’s Minnesota AG celebrates Brazil’s censorship of X
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who has served in the role since 2019 under Governor Tim Walz, celebrated when Brazil shut down social media platform X in its country. Ellison, who has also served as the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, posted in adoration for the move of censorship from the Brazilian government on Monday.
Ellison posted, “Obrigado Brasil!” which translates to “Thank you Brazil” in English after the government committed to shutting down X and fining those who use a VPN to get around the measure to use the app.
Walz has a history with Ellison, and the AG said that there was “no better choice for vice president” when Kamala Harris tapped Walz to be her running mate, per Valley News. Ellison said at the time, “Tim Walz and Kamala Harris are true public servants who have spent their lives working tirelessly on behalf of the American people. Plus, they are both big-hearted, jovial people with great senses of humor and boundless optimism. I look forward to campaigning vigorously for the Harris-Walz ticket, and I cannot wait to see what Kamala and Tim accomplish on behalf of America.”
The owner of X, Elon Musk, responded to Ellison’s post, “The Democratic Party – same one that used to defend the First Amendment –now wants to destroy the First Amendment.”
Over the last few months, Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has taken aim at Musk, X, and free speech, suspending the use of the app in the country as well as reportedly threatening employees at the local X office in Brazil with arrest.
Walz appointed Ellison to take over the Derek Chauvin-George Floyd case, which ended up convicting the former officer on murder charges. The well-known case saw Chauvin kneel on Floyd’s upper back and neck as he was lying on the ground. However, many have questioned the validity of the ruling.
Many believe Floyd died from asphyxiation because he said he could not breathe during the incident. However, there was no damage done to his airway, according to an autopsy done by the Chief Hennepin County Medical Examiner, who said that Floyd had a fatal amount of fentanyl mixed with other drugs in his system at the time and concluded, “The autopsy revealed no physical evidence suggesting that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation.”
Ellison spoke at the DNC, and brought up the video of Floyd before his death, recalling that Walz called him that day to talk and he was later appointed over the case. Ellison then gave praise to the Harris-Walz ticket in the upcoming election in his speech, according to USA Today.