In Minnesota, Republican Scott Jensen — who is running against Democratic incumbent Gov. Tim Walz in the 2022 midterms — has promoted a bizarre conspiracy which claims that public schools are allowing children to use litter boxes instead of restrooms if they identify as "furry." Now, according to KARE TV 11 (the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul), Jensen is drawing criticism from teachers and school officials for repeating a myth that has no basis in reality.
Jensen promoted the "litterboxgate" conspiracy theory, as it is being called in Minnesota, during a campaign event in September — telling the crowd, "What are we doing to our kids? Why are we telling elementary kids that they get to choose their gender this week? Why do we have litter boxes in some of the school districts so kids can pee in them, because they identify as a furry? We've lost our minds. We've lost our minds."
