Donald Raleigh (born October 9, 1965)[1] is an American politician and businessman who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 38A district from 2021 to 2023. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 5, 2021. He lost re-election to a new District 32B in 2022.
Donald Raleigh | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 38A district | |
| In office January 5, 2021 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Linda Runbeck |
| Succeeded by | Matt Norris (new district) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 9, 1965 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Marnie |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence(s) | Blaine, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Education | American Military University (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1984–1992 |
| Unit | 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment |
Education
editRaleigh graduated from Osceola High School in Polk County, Wisconsin in 1984.[2] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in emergency and disaster management from American Military University.[3]
Career
editRaleigh served in the United States Army from 1984 to 1992, where he was a member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. From 1992 to 1994, he worked as a salesman for InaCOMP, a technology company based in Southfield, Michigan. He was also a salesman for Entex Industries, Syntegra, Control Data, BT Group, and Creative Internet Solutions. He later worked as a consultant at Control Data. In 2002, he founded Evolve Systems, a marketing agency.[4] Raleigh also owns MYGUN.com LLC and Monitoring Management Solutions, Inc.[5]
Raleigh was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in November 2020 and assumed office on January 5, 2021.[6]
On September 8, 2022, a Minnesota Reformer article revealed that Raleigh was on the membership roster of the Oath Keepers, a group designated by the Anti-Defamation League as an "anti-government extremist group."[7] In an interview, Raleigh stated that he "disavows the group and its beliefs, and that he only signed up for a membership years ago as part of a project to conduct market research on organizations targeting veterans."[8]
Personal life
editRaleigh and his wife, Marnie, have four children and live in Blaine, Minnesota.[9]
Raleigh was detained at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport in 2016 while en route to Washington D.C. after a loaded gun was discovered in his carry-on luggage. Raleigh later entered a guilty plea after being charged with presenting a prohibited item at the security screening area.[10]
Raleigh has been linked to a series of web comics authored “by Dan & Don” originally posted on the violent cartoons depicting the murder of various people by guns.[11][12] The cartoons were originally posted on MYGUN.com. The dozens of illustrations show a stick figure shooting and murdering a variety of victims, including kids, people of color, a Girl Scout selling cookies, military members, environmentalists, a blind person, an overweight person, a Jehovah Witness and a DMV employee. Donald Raleigh has never publicly addressed the cartoons, however, a MN Republican spokesperson denied the cartoons were drawn by Donald Raleigh and asserted the drawings were by his younger brother, Dan.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Minnesota State Rep. Donald Raleigh - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ "Donald Raleigh". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ "Rep. Donald Raleigh (38A) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ "Donald Raleigh's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ "Candidates". cfb.mn.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- ^ Kieffer, Paige. "Republican Donald Raleigh takes House District 38A seat". hometownsource.com. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ "The Oath Keepers Data Leak: Unmasking Extremism in Public Life | ADL". www.adl.org. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ^ Ingraham, Christopher (2022-09-08). "Minnesota House Republican's name appears on Oath Keepers membership roster". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ^ Raleigh, Donald. "Let me introduce myself". Press Publications. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ State of Minnesota vs DONALD WILLIAM RALEIGH, Case No. 27-CR-16-16226
- ^ "DFL Party Condemns Violent Illustrations from GOP Candidate". DFL Minnesota. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- ^ Johnston, Kate Lý (2022-06-03). "Minnesota GOP House Rep. linked to violent cartoons depicting children, military members, people of color getting shot". Heartland Signal. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- ^ "DFL Party Condemns Violent Illustrations from GOP Candidate". DFL Minnesota. Retrieved 2022-10-11.