Five controversies surrounding Tim Walz, including DUI and COVID fraud allegations.

Kamala Harris has chosen Tim Walz, a Midwestern governor, Army veteran, football coach, and teacher, as her 2024 running mate after a quick, thorough evaluation process.

Walz, a 60-year-old veteran politician, served in the U.S. Congress from 2007 to 2019 and was later elected governor of Minnesota, defeating Republican Jeff Johnson. He was re-elected to a second term in 2022 after fending off a challenge from Republican Scott Jensen.

Walz's strong support for unions and accomplishments as governor, including codifying abortion rights, providing free school meals, and making Minnesota a refuge for transgender children, have earned him praise from progressives.

The Democratic campaign was thrilled with Walz's strong progressive record and plainspoken demeanor, which they believed would reinforce their strength in Midwestern battleground states. However, there are several controversies tied to Walz's tenure as governor that Republicans have already begun to use in their attacks on his record.

Here are a few:

1995 DUI Arrest

In past campaigns, Walz has tried to minimize the impact of his drunken driving arrest in the mid-90s, but his past legal issues continue to haunt him. A recent report by Alpha News uncovered court records that contradict the version of events Walz has shared on the campaign trail.

In 1995, while teaching in Nebraska, Walz was stopped for speeding at 96 mph in a 55-mph area.

In 2006, Walz's campaign for Congress in Minnesota's 1st District denied that he was drunk and attributed a misunderstanding with police to his "deafness," which his campaign manager claimed had been "surgically corrected."

But a state trooper's report obtained by Alpha News contradicts those claims.

According to the report, a strong smell of alcohol was detected on Mr. Walz's breath and body. The trooper stated that Walz took both a field sobriety test and a preliminary breath test, which he failed. He was later taken to Chadron Hospital for a blood test before being arrested and placed in the Dawes County Jail.

According to Alpha News, Walz was initially accused of driving under the influence and speeding, but he eventually pleaded guilty to a single charge of reckless driving.

Black Lives Matter Riots

Critics of Walz argue that his management of the Minneapolis riots following the 2020 death of George Floyd was a failure and marked the low point of his first term as governor.

"Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann stated that the current governor has been a disaster for the state and is the most partisan governor he can recall. According to Hann, the governor failed to take action to stop the riots in Minneapolis in 2020, fearing alienation from his progressive base, who supported the riots. Kamala Harris, during that time, was raising funds for the rioters."

The National Guard was deployed by Walz to halt the violence, which encompassed the burning of a police station. However, GOP lawmakers assert that both the governor and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey acted too tardily.

Paul Gazelka, the Republican state Senate Majority Leader, accused Walz of a sluggish reaction to the riots, resulting in devastation to downtown Minneapolis businesses.

"Gazelka wrote on X on July 28 that he called the White House after four days of unrest, with the Governor frozen on what to do. He knew that Gov. Walz and President Trump talked, and Walz finally brought the Guard out in full for the next night. However, Walz was three days too late, and pressure may have made him move."

Walz waited for three days before he could bring himself to ask for the National Guard to be deployed, as Hann pointed out the "defund" police movement's roots in Minnesota following Floyd's murder and subsequent rioting in the Twin Cities.

The delayed action resulted in devastation for hundreds of businesses in Minneapolis and St. Paul, who were already struggling due to pandemic-related closures and had to seek assistance from their local government to recover.

COVID-19 Lockdowns

During his first term as governor, Walz led Minnesota's efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. As a Democrat, he supported strict pandemic measures, such as lockdowns and mask mandates.

An appellate court upheld Walz's 2020 indoor mask mandate, despite a challenge from the Upper Midwest Law Center on constitutional grounds.

At the time, FOX 9 Minneapolis reported that Walz established a hotline for residents to report those who disregarded COVID-19 directives.

In a post, Gazelka requested Walz to "please remove the Hotline" as she deemed it unnecessary after its establishment.

The state senator suggested that we could all demonstrate some kindness to our neighbors while navigating our individual schedules and requirements during the stay at home efforts.

Pandemic Relief Fraud Investigation

Republicans have accused Walz of lax oversight of pandemic programs that cost millions of taxpayer dollars, in addition to complaints over his pandemic-era restrictions.

In June, the Office of the Legislative Auditor released a scathing report on Walz's Department of Education, stating that it failed to act on warning signs, did not effectively exercise its authority, and was ill-prepared to respond to the pandemic aid fraud case known as the Feeding Our Future scandal, which resulted in the charging of 70 people with defrauding federal food programs that funded meals for kids during the pandemic out of $250 million.

Interference in Police Shooting Case

Earlier this year, Mary Moriarty, Hennepin County Attorney, criticized Walz for his remarks regarding a police shooting case managed by her office.

In June, Moriarty dropped the case against Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan, who was accused of fatally shooting Black motorist Ricky Cobb II. During a press conference, she criticized Walz for being "very active in inserting himself into this case" and being conflicted since he controls the Minnesota State Patrol, as reported by FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul.

"Has the governor ever intervened in a case involving a defendant during his tenure?" Moriarty asked on June 3. "What is the governor's motivation for publicly discussing this case, given that he has never contacted me, is not a lawyer, and does not understand the complexities of the case? Why has the governor chosen to portray Mr. Londregan as the victim in this case? Why hasn't this been challenged?"

If Moriarty had not dropped the charges against Londregan, Walz would have used his executive power to remove her from the case.

"If the county attorney had not been appointed, we would have done that," Walz said.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office stated that rumors of Walz's intention to remove the case did not influence Moriarty's decision.

This report was contributed to by Audrey Conklin of Planet Chronicle Digital and the Associated Press.