Son Judson Uhre to Drop Lawsuit Against Mom Connie and Brothers Nick and Chad Uhre After Racism Row

The story of the Rapid City, SD hotel, embroiled in racial tensions took a strange turn this week, followed by another on Saturday.

The Grand Gateway Hotel became the center of drama in March when the owner released a racist tweet following a murder at the hotel. That led to ongoing protests at the hotel, and criticism from local officials.

On Monday, June 6, Judson Uhre filed a lawsuit in Pennington County against his mother, Connie, who made the racist tweet, as well as his brothers Nick and Chad Uhre . He also sued Retsel Corporation, a family company, on the grounds of breach of fiduciary duty, shareholder oppression and serious interference in hotel operations.

On March 21, Connie Uhre, who is listed as the president of the corporation, made this tweet.

“Let’s take the murder that took place at the Grand Gateway Hotel at 4:00 a.m. on March 19, 2022 plus all the vandalism we’ve had since the Mayor and Police Department were at work. with a non-profit organization (Dark Money). We will not allow any Native Americans to enter the property. Or at Cheers Sports Bar,” she wrote. “Indigenous people kill natives. Rancher and tourists will get a very special rate of $59.00 a night. Direct booking. Rapid City has gone to hell since the city accepts all Free Money with ropes, Look up Dark Money! McAuthor Foundation and many others”

Fourteen hours later, Judson posted a short reply: “Shut up mom.”

Nearly three months later, he went further, filing a civil lawsuit against the hotel, his mother, and his two brothers.

“Connie Uhre has a careful duty to ensure that she behaves in a manner that is not detrimental to the group’s business, however, she went ahead and made a racist remark. race was posted on a wide-reaching website and this led Judson to write, as reported by Fast City Magazine on Friday.

He also said he was saddened that no council meeting had been held since the racist comments sparked a firestorm despite requests to do so.

“Company regulations require that a special meeting be held at the request of any shareholder,” Judson wrote.

But on Saturday, he told The Daily Beast he regrets filing the lawsuit and will withdraw.

“I’m withdrawing the lawsuit,” Judson said. “I just wanted them to look at some other thing but they were stubborn. But I love them. I felt absolutely terrified and stupid. I love my mother very much.”

He said he believed his mother was not a racist and only reacted horribly to the March 19 shooting death of Myron Pourier, 19, who was a guest of the hotel. Quincy Bear Robe, 19, has been charged with second-degree murder.

“I think it’s very important for people to understand that people say bad things when they’re faced with terror and mayhem,” Judson said. “Including myself, I, like many others, lack the necessary righteousness. My mother has children of Native American ancestry and she also has grandchildren of African ancestry. In fact, she grew up with… she has a lot of Native American friends who take pride in calling her a friend. We actually hire more Native Americans in our hotels than local governments in their government per rate. ”

Matt Gade

But several Native American employees resigned following Connie Uhre’s comments. Judson Uhre said Indigenous Peoples are welcome as guests as well as members of staff.

“Natives are always welcome at the Grand Gateway Hotel, welcome now and welcome forever.”

He said his mother is 78 years old and has been traumatized by the controversy caused by her “shameful statement.” But he also said she was strong and resilient.

“And I will even say this: My mother is not a racist. I will say my mother loves Native Americans. She has a lot of Native Americans that she loves,” says Judson. “Now, she has a bit of virtue. Anyone with morals, she’s up to, and it doesn’t matter who you are. “

But recent events show just how high tensions remain. There have been protests outside the hotel, and a march was held on March 23 to demonstrate the community’s opposition to racism. A class-action lawsuit has been filed in federal court, with former US Attorney Brendan Johnson, son of longtime Representative and Senator Tim Johnson, representing the plaintiffs. These include Collective NDNa Native American advocacy group based in Rapid City.

“We need to be clear,” Johnson said at a Press conference March 23. “We are not sending this complaint to send a message. We are filing this complaint because we want justice.”

There’s also more trouble for Connie Uhre.

On May 27, she confronted some protesters and sprayed Sunny Red Bear, the director of racial justice at NDN Collective, in the face of a cleaning product. The attack is take a photo on a mobile phone and give it to the police.

Connie Uhre was charged with three counts of simple assault.

“This is what we mean when we say white supremacy is violent,” Red Bear said in a post on the NDN Collective website. “No matter how long they lie dormant, everyone’s racist worldview eventually reveals itself in their actions. Connie Uhre made her position on Indigenous people clear when she said she would ban all of us from her business and when her employees obeyed that ban. Those actions alone were violent. Now that we’ve seen her willing to commit an act of physical violence – in public and in broad daylight – I hope that people will begin to understand and believe us when we say that How dangerous and REAL racism is. ”

NDN Collective President and CEO Nick Tilsen also condemned the attack.

“Connie Uhre’s conduct today is not only racist, violent, and disgusting, it is also illegal,” Tilsen said. “As indigenous people, we will not sit on the sidelines when our rights are violated. This incident will be added federal civil rights lawsuit was submitted in March. We now call on the Department of Justice to step in and hold Connie Uhre and the Grand Gateway Hotel accountable for these racist and illegal acts against our people. It requires active action to subvert white supremacy. Everyone in this community should be offended.”

Judson Uhre said his mother had some moments of weakness and inexplicable, stemming from the murder in her hotel.

“Faced with terror and mayhem, she clearly lost her mind,” he said. “This is not the mother I know… this is not the person her friends know. This is not someone her Native American friends know.”

But Judson says she’s doing better now.

“She fixed it,” he said. “She broke and it was temporary.

Matt Gade

In the lawsuit, he also alleges his brother Chad had an affair with a hotel employee and damaged the business’s reputation. On Saturday, he dismissed it as a “rumor” and said he regretted bringing that into the lawsuit.

“My brother Chad was an excellent husband and father,” says Judson.

“I am so ashamed of my writing… I am so ashamed of myself and I am so ashamed.”

Judson said there are other victims in this case that have been overlooked: his family. They’ve closed the hotel for about a month and have dealt with an avalanche of bad publicity in South Dakota and around the country.

“We were unfairly punished for that,” he said. “I’m a victim of half-believing these things.”

Judson said the NDN was “totally wrong” to focus the protests around his mother. She has been traumatized by crime and violence in the city, he said.

“Crime in Rapid City has increased steadily, dramatically over the past five years,” says Judson.

Racial tensions in Rapid City are nothing new. The city lies on land pledged to the Sioux Nation in the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868. But after that the presence of gold in the Black Hills was confirmed during an 1874 expedition led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer , the land was expropriated through the Indian Expropriation Bill of 1876.

A legal battle has been waged since then, and in 1980 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the land had been stolen, and that the Native Americans were entitled to restitution. They declined a payment deal, with interest now reaching $1 billion.

The locals say this is stolen land and they want it back.

Lakota elder Tim Giago of Rapid City, publisher of The Native Sun Newshas covered this story for decades.

Giago, 87, said many locals stay at the Grand Gateway Hotel when they arrive in Rapid City. He speak Connie Uhre’s post is stupid and self-defeating.

“I saw that and I thought, ‘What a stupid thing to put on the internet.’ That place has had Native American customers for the last 50 years or so,” Giago told The Daily Beast in March. “It’s one of those places where a lot of Native Americans stay when they go to basketball tournaments or conventions.”

He says the comment is like cutting their own throat, as many natives will now avoid the Grand Gateway.

“I think maybe a lot of them won’t,” Giago said. “No one wants to go where they’re not welcome.”