‘Rules for thee but not for me’ is a sentiment that is all too common in politics, especially among the Establishment politicians. If you or another average Minnesotan made or shared an AI meme that mocks a politician, you could be locked up in prison for up to five years or a fine up to $10K. When Rep. Walter Hudson (HD30A), one the author of this anti-free speech meme law, shares AI memes mocking MN Democrats, it's a different story.

Egotistical establishment puppet politicians like Walter Hudson do not care about being consistent, hypocrisy is just part of the game when you play Team Red (or Team Blue) politics. While he thinks average Minnesotans should be locked up for memes, things are seemingly different when he does it.

Hudson shared two AI memes on social media today mocking Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s arrest, see below:

Of course, Hudson and all Minnesotans should have the right to share memes mocking politicians, preventing such action is anti-free speech tyranny. Unfortunately, Hudson is showcasing how much of a hypocrite he is. 

Hudson was the lone Republican author on HF1370 and cheered on its passage. On the House floor on 3/30/23, Hudson took time to praise Democrat Zach Stephenson on the “proactive” nature of the bill and also said that this bill was the “type of thinking that we have to be able to do and willing to do.” Hudson also said that the implementation of the law may be “a little sloppy” but says “That’s okay, we’ll figure it out.” Hudson advocated for a bill that allows radical Attorney General Keith Ellison to charge and imprison you for daring to mock politicians, indicating that Walter wants to protect himself and colleagues from criticism from regular people. At one point, Dems added to the bill and Walter removed his name as an author but once the bill was back to the original anti-free speech language, Walter led the charge for Republicans to pass it unanimously in the House twice.

Despite the bill passing unanimously in the House, one of the yes votes on the legislation, RINO Mary Franson, sued against the bill calling it unconstitutional. Perhaps she could’ve made a real impact if she had the guts, or competency, to fight on the House floor when it counted.

A4L remained the lone organization in our state fighting this corrupt bill while it was up for debate. Additionally, only one legislator, Senator Nathan Wesenberg (SD10), voted against this insane bill. When asked for comment, Senator Wesenberg told A4L "I opposed HF1370 because it allows radical leftist Keith Ellison to weaponize the law against regular Minnesotans sharing memes. This bill is unconstitutional in every sense of the word. If you cannot handle memes being made about you, you probably shouldn't be in public office."

This bill is officially law in Minnesota (MN Statute 609.771) and requires that to be prosecuted, the meme is made without the consent of the depicted individual, is made with intent to injure a candidate or influence the result of an election and that it takes place within 90 days before a political party nominating convention or after the start of absentee voting in an election. These details may be what Walter thinks gives him cover, however, the legislation is written so sloppily that it could easily be applied to him. Think about it, were those memes made to politically help or “injure” Nicole Mitchell?

As seen in MN Statute 609.771, the law does not require that the 90 day rule pertains only to nominating conventions related to the AI depicted individual, it simply says that the deep fake cannot be disseminated “within 90 days before a political party nominating convention”. Considering that the Minneapolis Democrat endorsing convention for Mayor is going on during the same day as Hudson’s posts, he may be out of luck. Additionally, if Mitchell resigns quickly, it would not be shocking if party endorsing conventions are scheduled quickly for that district and fit within that 90 day threshold. Walter would also be disqualified from being in office if found guilty of violating his own law.

Minnesotans should be free to share memes without crooked government official weaponizing sloppy, unconstitutional, anti-free speech laws against the people. Hypocrite Walter Hudson should learn from this moment and direct his energy toward repealing this law since he has learned how nonchalant a violation can be. Action 4 Liberty will remain the consistent voice for free speech in our state and will never waiver on our principles.