DFL lawmaker wants Mack and Kelly to apologize

A Democratic state representative who is also a police officer called for two Republican lawmakers allegedly caught "making out" to apologize to law enforcement for allegations they made after they were cited  in Lebanon Hills Regional Park.

Rep. Dan Schoen, DFL-Cottage Grove, sent a letter Friday to Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, calling on Rep. Tara Mack, R-Apple Valley, and Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing, to apologize after they took issue with a park ranger's report that said the two lawmakers were discovered in late August “committing an act that constitutes a nuisance” in the public park.

In court documents for the citations, the law enforcement officer noted that the two were “making out” in a car and that “the female’s pants were unzipped and pulled down.”

Kelly chairs the House Transportation Policy and Finance Committee. Mack chairs the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee. Both are serving their fourth term.

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Kelly and Mack initially strongly denied the allegation, and Mack said she would file  "a complaint with the sheriff’s office regarding the officer’s egregious and false statements.”

But last week both lawmakers backed down and paid fines for the citation.

Schoen stopped short of filing an ethics complaint against the GOP lawmakers, but wrote that making false claims against law enforcement is a serious issue for the Minnesota House, and that it is important for the credibility of the House that Daudt require the two to apologize.

Here's his letter: