Minnesota Democratic Lawmakers Assassinated amid Political Violence

Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were assassinated, and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were seriously injured in politically motivated shootings. The suspect, Vance Boelter, an anti-LGBTQ+ evangelical Christian and a supporter of President Trump, was arrested after targeting the lawmakers, sparking widespread condemnation of misinformation spread by some right-wing figures, including U.S. Senator Mike Lee who mocked the deaths and falsely labeled Boelter a Marxist. Right-wing influencers Collin Rugg and Mike Cernovich propagated conspiracy theories falsely linking the killings to a recent bipartisan compromise on MinnesotaCare, which Hortman and Governor Tim Walz negotiated to pass the state budget. These claims were debunked as both Democrat Hoffman, also targeted, voted against the rollback of MinnesotaCare for undocumented immigrants, and Boelter’s political appointments were nonpartisan and unrelated to the alleged motive. The incident has provoked strong backlash from Democrats and some conservatives condemning both the violence and the spread of disinformation around the attack. Governor Walz and President Trump have acknowledged the situation, emphasizing that such violence will not be tolerated.