(C) Minnesota Reformer This story was originally published by Minnesota Reformer and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Rep. Walter Hudson won’t be charged for carrying a firearm while impaired • Minnesota Reformer [1] ['Michelle Griffith', 'More From Author', 'April', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width'] Date: 2026-04 Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, will face no charges despite evidence that he was intoxicated while carrying his handgun during a police encounter around 2 a.m. Friday. Officers confiscated Hudson’s handgun after finding him impaired in the vehicle of his fellow House member, who was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. White Bear Lake police officers stopped Rep. Elliott Engen’s truck early Friday and arrested him on suspicion of driving while impaired. Hudson, who was one of two of Engen’s passengers, told officers that a bottle of alcohol sitting in a child’s car seat in the rear of the vehicle belonged to him, according to the incident report. Hudson handed over his 9mm Smith & Wesson to police and showed them his permit to carry. One of the officers told dispatch that the armed person in the vehicle was impaired but “more than compliant,” according to dispatch audio. Permit-to-carry holders can legally have a blood alcohol concentration of .04 or lower while carrying. Anything over .04 is a misdemeanor and a mandatory suspension of the license. According to Minnesota District Court data, prosecutors filed more than 375 charges in 2025 for carrying a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. But police did not conduct any alcohol screening test on Hudson to determine his level of intoxication, so Hudson cannot be charged, said White Bear Lake Police Chief Dale Hager. “It was a discretionary call by the officer and as a consequence of the good behavior, (the officer) wanted to respond in kind with not pursuing charges,” Hager said. “Since no test was done, we know that there would never be evidence to charge somebody.” Hager said his department has not referred a case against Hudson to the city attorney. The Ramsey County Attorney does not have jurisdiction over misdemeanors. Hudson and House Speaker Lisa Demuth through a spokesperson declined to comment. Earlier this week, Hudson in a statement said he regretted “the poor decisions that were made,” and Demuth said the decisions Hudson and Engen made in the incident were “unacceptable.” Hudson is known as a law-and-order conservative. After federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Hudson in a social media video said permit-to-carry holders carry a heavy burden of responsibility, implying that Pretti was an irresponsible permit-carrier. “Every concealed carry instructor in the state will tell you the same thing: The moment you choose to carry a firearm, your responsibility goes up, not down,” Hudson said. Rob Doar, general counsel for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, said most permit-to-carry instructors teach people to refrain from consuming any intoxicating substances while carrying a firearm. “Most instructors I know don’t encourage people to test the limit of the .04 (BAC). They say to keep those activities completely separate,” Doar said. Engen, a White Bear Township Republican, was charged by citation with fourth-degree DWI. He had repeatedly denied to the officer that he had been drinking, according to the incident report, and blew a .13 blood alcohol concentration at the police station. The legal limit is .08. Regarding the bottle that was sitting in a child’s car seat that Hudson said belonged to him, Hager said he did not know whether it was opened; the law prohibits open containers of alcohol in the car. The second passenger was not named in the police report because officers saw no indication he was committing a crime, so they didn’t take his ID information, Hager said. He confirmed that the other passenger was a man. Hager denied that Hudson was given any special treatment because of his status as a state lawmaker. Hudson sits on the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee. Hager said he backs his officers and believes they did nothing wrong in refraining from issuing charges through citation. “I back the officers’ decision because they had discretion, and they were doing their jobs,” Hager said. [END] --- [1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/rep-walter-hudson-wont-be-charged-for-carrying-a-firearm-while-impaired/ Published and (C) by Minnesota Reformer Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/MnReformer/