Minnesota shootings fuel more Reich-wing spin

 

As I'm writing this, the suspect in the apparently targeted shootings of two Democratic legislators and their spouses in Minnesota, Vance Luther Boelter has recently been captured and arrested, after a two-day multi-state manhunt that was reported to be the largest manhunt in Minnesota's history. Actually, given the details that had emerged about his volatile and troubled life, I was surprised he was found alive; I thought it very possible that he would take his own life, but he was captured near his farm in Green Isle, Minnesota.

People on both sides of the great American political divide seem to agree that the shootings, which killed Representative and Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband and gravely injured Senator John Hoffman and his wife, were shocking and tragic and horrifying. (Boelter even shot the Hortmans' dog, Gilbert, who later had to be euthanized due to the severity of his injuries.)

There also seems to be a consensus that the shootings were politically motivated.

It should come as no surprise, however, that while there's general agreement that the shootings were politically motivated, the two sides have sharply differing views of the suspect's actual political affiliation and therefore his motives.

The American Reich -- again, no surprise here -- is spinning it as being totally the fault of the Democrats/left, and they are claiming that suspect Boelter is a Democrat/left winger because:

1. He served as a governor appointee on the Governor's Workforce Development program under two Democratic governors, Governor Tim Walz and his predecessor, Governor Mark Dayton.
2. The lawmaker who died, Melissa Hortman, voted with House republican lawmakers on a budget bill that removed MinnesotaCare health coverage for undocumented immigrant adults. (However, the senator who was injured, John Hoffman, had actually voted against removing that access; more about that in a little while.)
3. A stack of small handwritten signs that simply said, "No Kings" was found in a vehicle that Boelter left at one of the crime scenes when he fled law enforcement officers. (That's according to a widely shared photo; some reports say that there were [also] flyers about a local No Kings event or events.)

One person on a Facebook thread I saw wrote, "This is yet another example of violent hateful Democrats using VIOLENCE against anyone who disagrees with them politically."

Another right-wing commentator blamed the shootings on "left-wing hysteria."

And a devout Trumpster who happens to be a Facebook friend of mine wrote on his timeline:

When I said pretty soon we would start to see Democrats start turning on each other, I didn’t actually mean they would resort to assassinating each other just for voting with Republicans on a single bill.

But if you don’t understand that the Democrat party is full blown EVIL by now, then God help you.

No one should act surprised by the details coming out of Minnesota, where a Gov Tim Walz political appointee gunned down two fellow Democrats and their spouses, while impersonating a police officer.

You don’t have to be Nostradamus to have seen this coming. The only thing surprising is that they didn’t try to frame a Republican…

"JEEZUS Christ on a bicycle!" as my late husband Ron used to say when astounded by some absurdity or sheer stupidity.

Most of the comments to my friend's Dems-are-evil Facebook thread were supportive of the original post, with one person suggesting that the Democrats should officially be declared domestic terrorists. My friend Facebook-liked that comment.

One lone person dissented by presenting some facts that are actually known about Boelter, but my friend just doubled down on insistence that Boelter, while probably having been a republican many years ago, as well as an evangelical Christian, is no longer either of those things and has become a Democrat. Then for good measure my friend attacked the dissenter about the latter's own political leanings.

This story is still developing, and even though he's now in custody, we still don't have a completely clear picture of Boelter's motives. Investigators probably have had a better idea than the rest of us do, but they had mostly been keeping tight-lipped about it during the manhunt, and even now have refrained from sharing certain details. "Don't jump to conclusions," we've been told over and over by various spokespeople in the know.

But I think it is safe to say that there is a growing mountain of evidence that Boelter was not in fact a Democrat bent on murdering fellow Democrats for siding with republicans on a single bill -- and that he was, instead, fueled by "Christian" right-wing zeal and forced-birth fascism.

Some facts that muddy the Reich-wing narrative
Reich-wing talking point number 1. Boelter was an appointee of two different Democratic governors, the most recent being Tim Walz, so that "proves" he's a Democrat.
As soon as the suspect was named, the Reich-wing media and even many of the supposedly mainstream/moderate media began bleating headlines describing Boelter as a "Tim Walz appointee" or some similar description. While this is technically true, it is grossly misleading in the contexts in which it has been presented by those who are trying to prove that Boelter is a Democrat and/or a political ally of Walz. (Some conspiranoids have even claimed that it was Walz who sent Boelter on his deadly mission.)

It's true that Boelter served for a couple of years on the Minnesota governor's Workforce Development Council under Governor Mark Dayton, a Democrat, who appointed him in 2016. Later the program was renamed the Workforce Development Board, and Governor Tim Walz, another Democrat, appointed Boelter to that board in 2019.

Here is a link to a document listing Boelter's 2019 appointment to the board. The relevant section on the Governor's Workforce Development Board begins on page 199 of this 475-page document. The section begins with a detailed description of the purpose of the board and a precise breakdown of powers and duties, member restrictions, and other pertinent information. Boelter, whose name appears on page 202, is identified as a "Business Member." And his political affiliation? "No party preference." His term ended in January 2023.

The important point is that the Workforce program is bipartisan, or more accurately, nonpartisan. I will let my Bing CoPilot AI buddy 'splain it:

[That board] is designed to be bipartisan and includes members from across the political and professional spectrum. Appointments often reflect a person’s industry experience or community involvement, not necessarily their political affiliation. In fact, Boelter’s background includes private security work, international business ventures, and affiliations that don’t clearly align with any one party.

And the emerging details of the case—like the manifesto found in his vehicle listing dozens of targets, including abortion providers and Democratic lawmakers—suggest a far more complex and disturbing motive.

Couple of points here regarding that AI-generated info, which is from a "conversation" I had with CoPilot on June 14, shortly after Boelter had been named as the suspect. The AI response was drawing on widespread online reports that were available at that time regarding Boelter's career history, but later reports indicated that Boelter had exaggerated or outright lied about some of his C.V., particularly the parts about security work (see section below, regarding "Fantasy careers..." etc.). Still, the point remains valid that Boelter's work background doesn't strongly indicate political party alignment one way or the other.

Secondly, the target lists found in Boelter's vehicle were, according to several later reports, not part of a "manifesto" per se; the AI response drew from existing early reports that referred to the presence of a manifesto. But again, the basic point is valid: those lists do not indicate that Boelter is a Democrat. They're much more indicative that he loathes Democrats.

Boelter's appointments to Minnesota's Workforce Development program under two Democratic governors appears to have been based not on his political leanings but primarily on his role as a member of the business community, which would make sense, given that the program is, after all, focused on making improvements to Minnesota's workforce. There's no indication that he had much if any interaction with the governors themselves, and certainly no evidence that he was a staunch political ally of either.

Reich-wing talking point number 2. Shortly before her death, Representative Melissa Hortman had voted with republican lawmakers to take healthcare access away from "illegals," and Boelter was angry because he felt that she had betrayed the Democratic party line.
MAGA has been all over this, praising Representative Hortman's courage for standing up against her evil party and then paying the ultimate price for doing so. The provision in the budget bill for which Hortman voted in accord with her republican colleagues took MinnesotaCare health coverage away from undocumented people over the age of 18.

The very sensible arguments made in favor of keeping this coverage was that it would ultimately be less expensive for Minnesotans, since the uninsured tend to go to eye-poppingly expensive hospital emergency rooms for their care, and they can't pay for those trips, but somebody has to pay, and that will cost the state more in the long term. But the republicans were having none of these arguments.

Hortman clearly agonized over this vote, which was an aberration from her usual voting pattern. It was a compromise she felt that she was forced to make, however, in order to pass the larger budget bill and prevent a partial state government shutdown. The vote left her and several of her Democratic colleagues in tears.

She acknowledged that this bill was going to hurt many people. It was obvious that she felt horrible about it (though of course MAGA has spun her tearful statements as an expression not of sadness for the people being hurt, but as fear for her life as a result of going against her party). But she explained that it was clear to her that her republican colleagues' top priority was to strip healthcare rights from undocumented adult immigrants, and they refused to budge at all on that matter.

Should she have held out anyway? That's open to debate, but the point is that she's not some kind of evil DINO (Democrat in Name Only). And even if that had been the case... with all due respect (emphasis on the word "due") to my Facebook friend quoted above, Democrats are not in the habit of offing each other over disagreements, even passionate disagreements. Dems tend to deal with their offending colleagues by canceling them or threatening to primary them or shaming them into resigning.

Also -- and this bears repeating -- despite some early Reich-wing narratives to the contrary, Senator John Hoffman, another one of Boelter's shooting victims, did not vote with Senate republicans on this matter. He remained a steadfast supporter of retaining healthcare access for the immigrants in question. So if Boelter supposedly shot Hortman for "betrayal" of Democratic party principles, due to her vote that would hurt some immigrants, why would he also want to kill Hoffman, who stood firm for the rights of those same immigrants?

The story gets both more complicated and possibly more simple as additional details are released about Boelter's spree on the morning of June 14, 2025. It has now come out that in addition to visiting the Hoffman and Hortman homes, he also visited the homes of two other legislators. The first would-be target, Representative Kristin Bahner, one of Representative Hortman's colleagues, was not at her Maple Grove home because her family was on vacation. Unlike Hortman, Representative Bahner did not vote with House republicans on the controversial budget bill.

The other, Senator Ann Rest of New Hope, was spared due to the fact that cops had already been alerted regarding Boelter's previous activity, and they were in the area. Senator Rest did vote with her republican Senate colleagues on the budget bill.

It's also important to note that like Hortman and Hoffman, both Ann Rest and Kristin Bahner are strong supporters of abortion rights and reproductive freedom.

Reich-wing talking point number 3. Stacks of "No Kings" signs and/or flyers (depending upon the report you read) were found in Boelter's vehicle.
Whatever you choose to call them, these could have been there for a number of reasons that had nothing to do with the anti-Trump sentiment driving the "No Kings" movement. It could have been that Boelter was planning on attending one of the local No Kings events to harass or harm protesters (that possibility apparently led to official cancellations of No Kings events across the state and warnings not to attend such events, but these warnings did not keep Minnesotans from turning out in force in St. Paul).

There was also some speculation that Boelter has "sovereign citizen" leanings and is driven by a general anti-government fanaticism, and therefore was just co-opting the current "No Kings" movement to further his own radical agenda. That seems to me to be the least credible theory, but investigations into motives are ongoing.

Or he could have just put the pieces of paper there to confound investigators; killers sometimes like to do things like that just to muddy the waters, as I noted in the August 2019 post linked to in this sentence (see under the subhead, "Forensic manifestering").

In short, it's highly unlikely that this stack of papers was evidence that Boelter was sympathetic to the the current "No Kings" anti-Trump movement. Brett Molnar, who runs the Voice of Reason Facebook page, posted this on June 16, 2025:

They’re at it again—WorldStar thumbnails, rage-bait tweets, “antifa inside job” TikToks spinning like a slot machine—anything to flip Vance Boelter’s massacre from MAGA blood‐sport to progressive false flag. Let’s burn the fog off the facts, paragraph by paragraph, before the algorithm cements another lie.

The flyer photo is real. Yes, Sheriff’s deputies found a shrink-wrapped stack of “NO KINGS” handouts in Boelter’s Chevy. They were zip-tied together, never unfolded, never handed out. Evidence tag reads: “Unmarked leaflets, approx. 150 count, recovered from trunk.” Full stop.

Where did they come from? Detectives traced the design to a carton printed for Minneapolis’ June 13 No Kings Day march. Volunteers noticed one bundle missing after teardown. Same printer, same cheap 20-lb copy paper, same smudge on the K in KINGS. Boelter didn’t design them—he shoplifted them.

Why steal protest flyers? Classic disinfo prop: stash your enemy’s logo in your kit so online partisans will screech “SEE? ANTIFA!” the moment the evidence table hits local news. Lone-wolf terrorists have been planting decoys since the Unabomber mailed false leads about woodworkers.

No Kings organizers aren’t hiding. They posted the original Adobe file plus the printer’s timestamp on Instagram within hours of the rumor. They condemned the murders, offered to testify, and published their entire expense spreadsheet—$87.41 at FedEx Office, line item and all.

Boelter’s digital footprint shreds the hoax. Phone forensics show Telegram channels called “Patriot Purge,” “Infowars Live,” and a meme folder titled “BuildTheWall.” Voter file: registered Republican. Roommate’s CBS interview: “He wore a Trump beanie to bed.” That’s not antifa cosplay.

Law enforcement statements tell the same story. Ramsey County Sheriff: “No evidence links organized activist groups to the suspect’s planning or motive.” FBI spokesperson: “Currently classified as a politically motivated violent extremist with anti-immigrant ideology.” Translation: right-wing lone actor.

But the right-wing spin machine is faster than the press release...

I did see an article on one site that described "No Kings" as a radical anti-government movement. Umm.... no, it's not. The "No Kings" movement behind the current wave of protests is very much PRO-government, at least the government that was envisioned by America's founders, not the totalitarian nightmare that Trump et al. are trying so hard to create.

Also -- and this cannot be over-emphasized -- consider the fact that the apparent hit lists that were reportedly found in Boelter's abandoned vehicle contained a list of Democratic politicians (including Governor Tim Walz) and abortion-rights activists, as well as information about clinics. Add to this the clear indications on Boelter's social media that he was sympathetic to Christian nationalist organizations and causes, and fiercely opposed to abortion and LGBTQ rights.

Here's a closer look at Boelter and his apparent love for a theology of violence. It's very much worth reading.

All of the above would suggest that if these were indeed politically motivated shootings, and not just random craziness, then Vance Luther Boelter is most likely not a Democrat who was miffed by fellow Democrats voting with republicans on a bill.

In other words, all indications are that he is the exact opposite of the man in the Reich fever-swamp narrative.

Fantasy careers, evangelicalism, and forced-birth fascism
Investigators as well as reporters are still trying to piece together a more comprehensive portrait of Vance Boelter, but sussing out his career path is proving to be no small challenge, since he has apparently embellished his resume. From NPR, June 15, 2025:

Authorities said Boelter disguised himself as a law enforcement officer during the attack and news reports have focused on his apparent work as a security professional. But NPR's review of Boelter's online records and employment history found many of those claims about his professional life appear untrue.

In social media posts and websites, Boelter said he had extensive experience as a security professional with "training by both private security firms and by people in the U.S. Military."

NPR found little evidence to support Boelter's account. He appears to have worked most of his career in the food service industry and one long-time friend described parts of Boelter's narrative about his life as "fantasy."...

...On the website for a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services, LLC, Boelter described himself as part of the "leadership team."

NPR found no record of the firm having clients or providing any services. A call to the company's phone number connected to what appears to be a private phone line, not a business. The address listed in incorporation papers appeared to be that of a law firm specializing in divorce litigation.

Boelter himself appears to have no history working in law enforcement, the military or private security...

...In an interview with Fox News 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, one of Boelter's long-time friends, David Carlson, downplayed the idea that he had any real-world military or security experience. "He was always kind of into the military stuff, but it was just, we were always like that. Me and him, we would play army men," Carlson said.

CNN has been keeping a running update on this case. On June 14 segment titled "10 things to know about the shooting suspect," among the items noted were:

• He is an outspoken evangelical Christian who traveled to Africa to tell his faith story and, in at least one sermon, pointedly questioned American morals on sexual orientation, according to videos and social media posts reviewed by CNN.

• Names on a list found in his car, which CNN obtained, are largely Democrats or figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement. The list included prominent lawmakers like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Tina Smith as well as Planned Parenthood leaders.

There's much more on that page about Boelter that seem to offer significant clues as to his probable motives. Here's that link again.

And on a June 15, 2025 piece, SFGate (among numerous other outlets) published an AP article that lays out as good a summary as I've seen bolstering the case that Boelter is not a disgruntled Dem but is actually pro-Trump -- and, not irrelevant to possible motives, very much anti-abortion.

Friends and former colleagues interviewed by The Associated Press described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump. Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota where voters don’t list party affiliation.

Near the scene at Hortman’s home, authorities say they found an SUV made to look like those used by law enforcement. Inside they found fliers for a local anti-Trump “No Kings” rally scheduled for Saturday and a notebook with names of other lawmakers. The list also included the names of abortion rights advocates and health care officials, according to two law enforcement officials who could not discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Both Hortman and Hoffman were defenders of abortion rights at the state legislature.

It's important to note that these friends told the AP that even though they knew Boelter was religious and conservative, he didn't talk about politics often and didn't seem extreme. But apparently he was hiding his more strident beliefs from his friends at home, letting his true self out on the stage when he preached in the Democratic Republic of Congo a couple of years ago. In one sermon he told the congregation that the U.S. was a "bad place" where most churches didn't oppose abortion.

Here is a link to a video of a 2023 sermon; Boelter's part begins at about 36:35. And here's a link where you can watch part of a 2021 sermon in which Boelter performs an unhinged Jeezus dance.

All in all, and I hope you'll forgive me for belaboring a point, he really doesn't sound much like your typical Democrat to me.

The probable real reasons Boelter targeted Hortman and Hoffman (and Rest and Bahner et al.)
Melissa Hortman was a strong advocate for abortion rights and numerous other progressive causes, including transgender rights, according to The19th news site. She was also a tireless champion for Minnesota families, according to colleagues. Regarding her stance and actions on abortion, The19thNews reported:

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion in June 2022, Minnesota emerged as a key access point for abortion as other Midwestern states moved to ban the procedure. 

“There was a simmering rage that did not stop,” Hortman said after the 2022 election, according to Minnesota Public Radio. “I was hopeful that voters would take that energy and put it on the ballot and vote for Democrats. And thankfully they did.”

In 2023, Hortman led the Minnesota House in passing the PRO Act, legislation that codified the legality of abortion and other forms of reproductive health care in the state. In subsequent bills, the Minnesota legislature eliminated other restrictions on abortion, passed protections for abortion providers, boosted state funding for clinics providing abortion and eliminated funding for anti-abortion counseling centers.     

Hoffman, too, is pro-choice, if his voting records on the abortion issue are any indication. He is also deeply concerned with helping some of the most vulnerable people. Health care and education have been among his pet causes. He has been a staunch advocate for people with disabilities; his own daughter is an amputee.

Clearly, neither Hortman nor Hoffman was a single-issue legislator. But as the materials reported to be in Boelter abandoned vehicle seemed to focus heavily on abortion rights advocates and providers, and both Hortman and Hoffman have voted in favor of reproductive rights, it's not unreasonable to speculate that Boelter was driven above all by anti-abortion fanaticism -- especially in light of the fact that, as mentioned above, he also targeted two other strong abortion rights lawmakers, Senator Ann Rest and Representative Kristin Bahner.

United we stand... mostly, and for the moment, anyway
There is at least some indication that Democratic and republican leadership, if not the finger-pointing electorate, have declared a temporary truce and are united in their mourning for the victims and their families. Even Trump has issued the obligatory "this is horrible" statement, though it's probably only a matter of time before he starts blaming the Dems. He has already managed to get a gratuitous and egregiously unpresidential dig in at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, within the context of making a statement about the shootings.
UPDATE, June 17, 2025: Trump is in full blame-the-Dems mode now, or at least blame-Walz mode, having declared that he is not going to call Governor Walz (previously he had told reporters that he might call him). Why the decision not to make the call? Because it would be a "waste of time," since the governor is so "whacked out" and "doesn't have a clue" and is "a mess." How very, very presidential.

There is also, as there always is when some horrible act of political violence occurs in our land, a general sentiment that violence should have absolutely no place in American politics. We should all agree on that. I have my political biases, which I freely acknowledge. But if the suspect really had turned out to be a Democrat/liberal/left-winger, I would be as appalled and outraged and sad as I presently am. I would still be calling for him to be captured, tried, and if found guilty punished within the fullest extent of the law.

Even so, unlike my Trumpist Facebook friend, I do not believe that all republicans are evil and prone to violence. And it is worse than stupid -- it's Christ-on-a-bike-level moronic -- to try to pin this horror on the Democrats.

PS ~ In case you still have any doubts... this is from a commentator I follow on BlueSky Social, Machine Pun Kelly. It's a very good and detailed vid that debunks the narrative that Vance Boelter is a lib.

This post has been updated since its original publication on June 15, 2025. I will continue to update as more details emerge.

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