ST. PAUL – Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson (R- East Grand Forks) and House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (R- Cold Spring) released the following statement in response to the BDS protest at the State Board of Investment meeting today.

“We unequivocally oppose the ‘Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions’ movement protesting the State Board of Investment today. The BDS movement is not new, and it has always been on the wrong side of history. This antisemitic ideology has no place in public discourse or in public policy. 

“The Minnesota Legislature has made clear BDS is not welcome in our borders and certainly not as a financial tool for state pensions. In 2017, the legislature passed with broad bipartisan support a state ban from dealing with companies that participate in BDS, and we see absolutely no reason why the State Investment Board should completely reverse that position after the gruesome and appalling attacks on Israel since October 7, 2023.  

“We will continue to protect the state’s investments from harmful political ideology and encourage the State Board of Investment to put first the financial interests of the states’ pensioners.”