By Charlie Mahler
Joan Baez, Bernie Sanders, Bruce Springsteen, Maggie Rogers, Jane Fonda and … Northfield native Nick Benson?
Yes.
Nick Benson, the plane-spotter who tracked ICE deportation flights departing from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, will be a featured speaker for Saturday’s No Kings Twin Cities rally.
Benson, a Northfield High School graduate, will share the stage at the nation’s flagship No Kings gathering with celebrity-activists like Baez, Springsteen, and Jane Fonda, as well as elected officials like Vermont Senator Sanders, Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her.
Benson gained attention this winter by observing ICE detention flights and tracking the number of detainees onboard each. More recently, he used a Freedom of Information Act request for video footage that documented Liam Conejo Ramos and his father being transferred to a Texas detention site via a regularly scheduled Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Conejo Ramos is the 5-year-old photographed in a bunny hat that was allegedly used as bait by ICE agents to arrest his Father.
Closer to home, Benson donated 12 dashboard cameras this winter to Northfield Supporting Neighbors to assist the community watch group’s efforts to monitor ICE activity in the area. Benson crowdsourced funding for more than 500 dashcams for use by Minnesota ICE observers.
The No Kings Twin Cities gathering, which organizers expect to draw more than 80,000 people, is one of dozens of No Kings rallies planned across Minnesota on Saturday, including those in Northfield, Faribault, and Farmington. More than 3000 gatherings are planned across the country. Marches from various Twin Cities locations begin at noon with the No Kings Twin Cities rally-proper beginning at 2 p.m. at the State Capitol in St. Paul.
The Northfield No Kings rally begins at noon on Saturday in Ames Park.
Charlie Mahler is the Chief KYMN News Correspondent for education and politics. Contact him at charlie@kymnradio.net
