Residents of Duluth are calling for justice for a Black woman who was almost beaten to death at a bar by two White men on September 12, 2023.
Michelle Folson, 39. was brutally beaten at the Rustic Bar, located in the Spirit Valley neighborhood in southwestern Duluth.
She has been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, which doctors say can hinder cognitive ability.
Folson and witnesses say the White men, Scott Rabold and Mylon Griak, both of Duluth, stomped and kicked Folson in the head and face so badly that she lost consciousness.
Folson said nobody at the bar called the police or otherwise intervened, and that the bartender on duty at the time had the blood washed off of the premises before police arrived.
Duluth NAACP says the attack on Folson and the injuries she recorded meet the state’s standards for third-degree assault. Folson’s daughter, Katasia Khabeer, started a GoFundMe for Folson with the help of the Duluth NAACP.
Duluth police say that the two men intervened in a confrontation between Folson and a White woman that “got physical.” The White men reportedly separated the two and proceeded to beat Folson. The White woman is associated with the two White men.
Photos Folson posted on social media show her glasses and shirt stained with blood. Folson said she was “not satisfied” with the fact that the two White men were cited for simple assault by the Duluth city attorney.
Representatives of the Rustic Bar reportedly turned over footage of the incident to Duluth police two days after they requested it.
The bar’s owner, Jeff Flynn, has not commented publicly on the incident.
