Motorist is charged in death at Minn. protest

MINNEAPOLIS — A murder charge was filed Wednesday against an unlicensed motorist who admitted that he accelerated toward a protest in Uptown in hopes of vaulting over a vehicle that was meant to protect the people he knew were on the other side.

Nicholas D. Kraus, 35, of St. Paul, was charged in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree intentional murder and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the crash late Sunday that killed 31-yearold Deona M. Knajdek, of Minneapolis, and injured three other protesters.

The murder count represents a far more serious charge against Kraus and the potential for many years in prison if convicted, rather than the more typical count of criminal vehicular homicide.

The charges come on the day that Knajdek, a project manager for a vulnerable adult service provider and a mother to two girls, would have turned 32 years old.

Kraus remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail ahead of a court appearance that has yet to be scheduled. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement that Kraus was intoxicated when he committed an “extreme and violent intentional act” that killed a peaceful protester.

“His behavior and admittance to intentionally driving towards the protesters is one important reason why we have charged him with intentional seconddegree murder,” Freeman continued.

Kraus’ criminal history in Minnesota includes five convictions for drunken driving, most recently in 2016 and as far back as 2008, and for driving without a license.