ROCHESTER, Minn. — U.S. Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn is withdrawing the welcome mat for members of at least one left-leaning group.
The first-term congressman from the First District said this week that his Minnesota office staff would no longer hold in-person meetings with members of the liberal group Indivisible.
Hagedorn came to the decision, a letter to the group states, after one of the leaders of the St. Peter and Greater Mankato Indivisible group said the visits were designed to distract staff from attending to other work.
"This is disappointing, especially coming from a group that claims to be dedicated to making people's lives better," Hagedorn said in the letter.
The ban applies to all chapters of Indivisible within the First District, not just the St. Peter and Greater Mankato Indivisible group.
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Pernell Meier. a leader in the Rochester chapter, said she was disappointed in the blanket ban.
The group is still welcome at town hall meetings and to submit their questions and comments in writing.
Indivisible is not the only group that Hagedorn's staff have reportedly declined to meet with. Regina Mustafa, a Rochester Muslim leader, said a staff member cancelled a meeting with her in June.
