A controversial left-wing commentator's visit to Minnesota one week before the midterm elections is dividing Democrats, many of whom are distancing themselves from him.
Hasan Piker, an online streamer whose videos get hundreds of thousands of views and whose platforms have amassed millions of followers, is slated to speak at an event with state Sen. Omar Fateh on Monday in Minneapolis alongside U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Fateh, democratic socialist, said the event sold-out in five minutes and called Piker a "fearless champion" for the "future we want to build." But his inflammatory rhetoric is igniting a debate within the party, reflecting a broader divide between the more progressive and moderate members.
He's previously made comments like "America deserved 9/11"---a remark for which he later apologized—and that Hamas is "1,000 times better" than Israel.
The event comes just one week before the midterm elections, where Democrats in Minnesota hope to continue their 20-year streak of holding all statewide offices. Polls show Klobuchar with a commanding lead over her GOP challenger, House Speaker Lisa Demuth, but Flanagan and Republican candidate Michele Tafoya are in a tighter race.
Members of the Jewish community are concerned about safety and called on elected leaders to speak out against his visit.
"We are not a censorious group," said Steve Hunegs, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas. "If Representative Omar and Senator Fateh want to bring Piker to the Twin Cities, that's their business in a sense, but it's the rest of our business to comment upon it, to know what it means, how it reflects upon their leadership because of the controversy and divisiveness that it brings to our community."
