In the aftermath of the deadly Minnesota shootings, several prominent right-wing voices have falsely cast blame on Democrats for the violence, despite the suspected shooter’s apparent support for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
The President’s son, Donald Trump Jr., told News Nation Monday that the suspect in the shootings, which killed one state lawmaker and her husband and wounded another and his wife, “seems to be a leftist” and “is a Democrat.” Days earlier, Utah Sen. Mike Lee drew swift backlash when he pointed the finger at “Marxists” in a post on X after news of the shootings broke. Lee has since deleted that post, and some others about the shooting, following criticism.
The comments contradict statements made by those who personally know Vance Boelter, the suspect in the case. A friend identified Boelter as a “strong supporter” of Trump, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. A man who has known Boelter for years, Paul Schroeder, told The Associated Press that he was “right-leaning politically,” though he said he never seemed “fanatical.” Though voters do not register under a specific party in Minnesota, the AP reported that Boelter was previously registered as a Republican in Oklahoma before moving to the state.
Authorities recovered lists that appeared to include the names of dozens of other potential targets, including the Democratic lawmakers who were shot and a number of others. Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joseph Thompson, however, said he has not seen “anything involving some sort of political screed or manifesto that would clearly identify what motivated him,” referring to Boelter. “No Kings” flyers were also found in the vehicle, referencing the anti-Trump protests that took place across the United States on Saturday.
Boelter, 57, is facing federal charges of stalking and murdering of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, and stalking and shooting Minnesota state senator John Hoffman and his wife. In what federal authorities described as a “calculated plan,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) said the suspect went to the homes of four state lawmakers in the early hours of Saturday morning disguised as law enforcement. He is alleged to have first driven to the Hoffmans’ home, who were repeatedly shot after trying to close the door on Boelter, who was wearing a silicone face mask, according to the DOJ. The gunman later went to the Hortmans’ home, where they were killed.
State-level charges have also been levied against Boelter.
The reactions to the shootings underscore the prominent partisan tensions across the U.S. even as lawmakers from across the political spectrum face growing threats of violence. The President told reporters Tuesday he has not called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to discuss the attack, forgoing a common presidential practice. “Why would I call him?” Trump said in reference to the 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate. “He’s a mess. So I could be nice and call, but why waste time?”
What Trump allies have been saying
Several Trump allies have spread false claims about the suspected shooter’s politics.
The day news broke regarding the shooting, Sen. Lee called Marxism a “deadly illness” while resharing a picture of the alleged shooter. In one of his now-deleted posts, he wrote the following day: “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.”
Some conservatives pointed to the suspect’s appointment to an advisory board in 2019 by Gov. Walz in their claims regarding his political affiliation.
“Everyone talks about Minnesota, but they don’t talk about the guy who seems to be a leftist. It’s a Minnesota politician, a guy who was appointed by the Democratic governor, vice presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, Tim Walz. The guy that committed those atrocities this weekend is a Democrat,” Trump Jr. told News Nation.
Hoffman was also a part of the board Boelter served on, though any relationship they had with one another is unclear.
Trump Jr. also criticized Democrats’ involvement in the Black Lives Matter protests. “If Republicans were doing that, they’d be thrown in jail. When a Democrat does it, it’s to preserve democracy,” he told News Nation.
Former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk echoed a similar sentiment. “The far left is murderously violent,” he wrote on X Saturday.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is known for spreading conspiracy theories, called for the arrest and interrogation of Walz and the organizer behind the No Kings Day protest. “The media wants to gaslight you into thinking the shooter in Minnesota is a Trump supporter. He was appointed by Walz. He was friends with Walz. And he had NO KINGS flyers in his car,” she shared on X on Saturday.
A source from the governor’s office told The Minnesota Star Tribune that Walz and Boelter did not know each other, and said that the advisory board the suspect was appointed to was nonpartisan. Boelter previously served on the workplace development advisory board under appointment by former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a member of the state’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden claimed that the gunman was a liberal who “decided to murder and attempt to murder some politicians that were not far Left enough for them.” He also called Walz a “clown” and “stupid” in additional posts .
What we know about the suspected shooter’s political views
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Boelter’s roommate David Carlson revealed that the suspected gunman voted for Trump but had not discussed “politics lately.”
Boelter voted in the presidential primary, but not as a Democrat, per the Star Tribune.
A review of his social media profiles by CNN identified Boelter as an evangelical Christian. A video of a speech Boelter gave in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023 showed him criticizing those who are questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity. “There’s people especially in America, they don’t know what sex they are, they don’t know their sexual orientation, they’re confused. The enemy has gotten so far into their mind and their soul,” he said.
The list of other suspected targets recovered from Boelter’s car included Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, both Democrats. Representatives Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig were also on the list, a law enforcement official told the New York Times.
Additional documents seized by authorities show possible plans to attack “No Kings” or anti-Trump protests.
How others have been responding
Some officials have denounced the statements from Republicans seeking to link the alleged shooter to Democrats, particularly Sen. Lee’s.
Former chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele, told Lee to “grow the hell up” in response to another post made by the Senator that read “Nightmare on Waltz Street.”
Sen. Smith confronted Lee in person and called his statements painful. Sen. Klobuchar told MSNBC she planned to speak to Lee in person. “And what I’m going to tell him is: This isn’t funny,” Klobuchar said.
The rise of political violence in the U.S.
The shootings are the latest among a growing number of threats and acts of violence against elected officials in recent years. President Trump last year survived two apparent assasination attempts, first during a Pennsylvania rally and later while he was at a golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was set on fire in April by a man who authorities said told them he would have beaten the governor “with a hammer” if he had seen him. In Oct. 2022, a man attacked Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer at their San Francisco home. David DePape, the convicted assailant, said he planned on breaking former House Speaker Pelosi’s kneecaps if she did not reply to his questions truthfully.
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