WTIP visits Rainbow Gathering days after attack

As reported this week by WTIP, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and Cook County Ambulance responded to a "Rainbow Gathering" being held in the Superior National Forest off of the Trout Lake Road in Grand Marais over the weekend.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office arrested 20-year-old Spencer Fredrickson, of Northfield, Minn, on Sunday, Aug 26. Fredrickson is being charged with 1st-degree assault (strangulation, jaw pulling) and 4th-degree assault on a peace officer.

In the wake of this incident, media organizations from Minneapolis to New York reported on this story, with many stories highlighting the fact Fredrickson was under the influence of powerful hallucinogens, including LSD, at the time of the alleged assaults. Media reports, including WTIP’s original story, state that members of the Rainbow Family at the gathering used duct tape to restrain Fredrickson.

To hear more about the incident at the 2018 Rainbow Gathering up the Gunflint Trail, WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs visited the site of this year’s event. He spoke with two people at the camp whose names were shared as Red Dog and Aaron. Both were present during the incident involving Fredrickson.