A growing memorial for Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband stands Monday, June 16, 2025 at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

The horrific assassination of Minnesota’s Democratic legislative leader Melissa Hortman last weekend left people across the country in a state of shock and grief. 

But just across the border from Hortman’s home state, Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden seized on the double murder of Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were shot dead in their home, and the near-fatal shootings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, to mock Democrats and try to score political points. Van Orden falsely characterized the suspected shooter, a right-wing religious fanatic on a mission to murder Democrats and abortion providers, as an anti-Trump protester who “decided to murder and attempt to murder some politicians that were not far Left enough for them.”

This wildly misleading analysis came straight out of the MAGA alternative reality machine on social media, where, Minnesota Reformer editor J. Patrick Coolican wrote, right-wing influencers began peddling misinformation about Hortman’s murder just hours after it happened. 

Van Orden was not alone in helping to spread those lies. Wisconsin’s former Republican Gov. Scott Walker also did his part. In a now-deleted post on X, Walker wrote that if the assassination “ends up being done by an ultra-liberal activist … watch for many on the left to be silent or even justify it. Wrong!” 

It is now clear that suspected murderer Boelter was a Republican who, as an evangelical Christian minister, gave sermons railing against abortion and LGBTQ people. Walker at least had the good sense to take down his post — lapsing into the silence he’d predicted “many on the left” would observe. 

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah was shamed by his colleagues into taking down a similarly callous post in which he blamed “Marxists” for the murders and appeared to gloat that it was a “nightmare” for Walz. 

Van Orden, on the other hand, doubled down.

“I stand by my statement,” he wrote on X after U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan chastized him for replying to Walz’s remembrance of Hortman by saying that the Democratic governor is “stupid” and a “clown.” Van Orden responded to Pocan with an obscenity. That’s the post he stood by.

Van Orden, who attended the Jan. 6 rally in Washington after President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election alongside the Capitol insurrectionists, is hardly a model of statesmanship. His boorish behavior in Washington on more than one occasion has embarrassed our state.

But there’s something more troubling going on here than one politician’s loutish behavior. 

The horrifying political assassination in Minnesota is a direct result of the same MAGA disinformation machine that went into overdrive trying to distort the truth about the assassin’s aims. Van Orden is one of many Republicans who have hyped the idea that the U.S. is under attack from “criminal, illegal aliens” who were allowed by the Biden administration to “wander around the nation at their leisure.” (In fact, immigrants commit violent crimes at lower rates than U.S.-born citizens, and Van Orden’s district is full of hardworking immigrants who lack legal status but without whom Wisconsin’s dairy industry would collapse.)

Republicans following Trump’s lead have stirred up a moral panic around immigration, abortion, LGBTQ people and other non-threats in increasingly hysterical terms. Their rhetoric laid the groundwork for actual physical violence. It has been used to justify the unprecedented spectacle of masked federal agents seizing people on U.S. streets and deporting them without due process, as well as the Trump administration’s outrageous manhandling and handcuffing of Judge Hannah Dugan in Milwaukee, Sen. Alex Padilla in California and a mayoral candidate and Comptroller Brad Lander in New York City.  

Trump’s invitation to physical violence against his opponents and the press are a hit with his base. It seems inevitable that eventually someone would take him up on it. 

Adding fuel to the fire, Trump’s MAGA minions have made his sociopathic callousness part of their brand. Trump refused to call Walz after the murders in Minnesota, and instead took a gratuitous swipe at the man who campaigned against him as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024, calling him “whacked out” and “a mess.”

 “I could be nice and call, but why waste time?” Trump told reporters. 

In a terse statement, Walz spokesperson Teddy Tschann explained why: “Governor Walz wishes that President Trump would be a President for all Americans, but this tragedy isn’t about Trump or Walz. It’s about the Hortman family, the Hoffman family, and the State of Minnesota, and the governor remains focused on helping all three to heal.”

What happened in Minnesota is a tragedy for all of us. It’s made worse by the lack of leadership from politicians who not only don’t have the wisdom and maturity to respond appropriately, but who, by failing to take responsibility for their actions, are actively propelling us toward a more terrible future.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 13: U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) participates in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on May 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah took down X posts Tuesday making an apparent connection between Gov. Tim Walz and the man accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses, and blaming “Marxists” for the murders. The change comes after blowback from Sen. Tina Smith and her staffers as well as Minnesota Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

One X post said “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” with pictures of Boelter, who is accused of killing Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and shooting Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in the early morning hours of June 14. Boelter also went to the homes of two other state lawmakers that night; one house was empty, and at the other, a police officer pulled up to the house shortly after Boelter arrived, so Boelter left.

Another Lee post read, “This is what happens When Marxists don’t get their way,” with a picture of Boelter.

Misinformation about Boelter’s apparent connection to Walz has been circulating online since the killing. Walz reappointed Boelter to the Workforce Development Board — one of hundreds of nonpartisan boards and commissions — after he was originally appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton, but Walz had no personal connection to Boelter. There have also been claims online that Boelter is a leftist, though his roommate told reporters that he is a Trump supporter.

The changes to Lee’s X feed come after a confrontation between Lee and Smith Monday at the U.S. Capitol.

“I wanted him to hear directly from me about how painful that was and how wrong that was,” Smith told the Star Tribune. Smith, who was a friend of Hortman’s, said Lee did not apologize during their conversation.

Ed Shelleby, Smith’s deputy chief of staff, sent an email to Lee’s staff condemning the senator’s posts.

“You exploited the murder of a lifetime public servant and her husband to post some sick burns about Democrats. Did you see this as an excellent opportunity to get likes and retweets? Have you absolutely no conscience? No decency?” a copy of the email obtained by Semafor said.

Several Minnesota Republicans also condemned Lee’s posts.

“I have tremendous respect for Senator Mike Lee, but it doesn’t mean he is immune from the base impulses social media incentivizes. People say stupid stuff on the internet all the time. The best they can do is admit they shouldn’t have and be better,” Rep. Nolan West, R-Blaine, wrote on X. He later responded to his post, writing, “Respect rescinded.”

“This has nothing to do with Governor Walz,” Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, posted on X.

In separate press conferences Monday, both state and federal officials addressed the misinformation that has been circulating online about the assassination.

“As our community grieves, I encourage those out there seeking to create additional chaos to stop spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said.

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.

Speaker emeritus Rep. Melissa Hartman talks to colleagues during a special legislative session Monday, June 9, 2025 at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

House Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus leader Melissa Hortman, who was among the most influential Minnesota elected officials of the past decade, died on Saturday morning after a man impersonating a police officer shot her in her Brooklyn Park home, Gov. Tim Walz said.

Hortman’s husband was also shot and killed, the governor said.

Walz, appearing emotional at a press conference in the north metro, said they were killed in an apparent “politically motivated assassination.”

“Our state lost a great leader, and I lost the dearest of friends,” Walz said. “(Hortman) was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota.”

Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times earlier in the evening in their Champlin home. Walz said they were out of surgery, and that he’s “cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt.”

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said Champlin law enforcement received a call at about 2 a.m. that a person shot Hoffman and his wife.

Brooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley said his officers assisted with the Champlin shooting; a sergeant suggested checking in on Hortman’s home. They live about five to eight miles away from each other. When Brooklyn Park police officers arrived at Hortman’s home, they encountered a person who was dressed like a police officer who “immediately fired at them,” Evans said. Police exchanged gunfire with the person, but they were able to escape.

The shooter is still at large, and Brooklyn Park is under a shelter-in-place order. Hundreds of police officers and SWAT teams are conducting a manhunt for the person, officials said.

On Saturday afternoon, authorities asked for the public’s assistance in locating Vance Luther Boelter, the suspect connected with the shootings. They said he was last seen Saturday morning in Minneapolis wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt and a cowboy hat.

Bruley said that when they arrived at Hortman’s home, they saw a police SUV with its lights on and saw the suspect was impersonating a police officer.

In the SUV, police found a “manifesto,” with a list of lawmakers and other officials on it. Hortman and Hoffman were on the list. According to an official who has seen the list, the targets included prominent pro-choice individuals in Minnesota, including many Democratic lawmakers who have been outspoken about their policy positions.

Hortman, who has two adult children, was first elected to the Legislature 2004 and served as House Speaker from 2019-2024. She lost two elections before winning, which she said gave her an understanding of what it takes to win swing seats and hold them.

Her speakership will be remembered as among the most consequential in recent Minnesota political history. With Walz and Senate GOP Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, she guided the state through the pandemic before helping Democrats achieve a trifecta in the 2022 election.

During the 2023 legislative session, she helped bridge the wide gulf between moderates and progressives in her caucus to achieve a historic legislative agenda. Democrats codified abortion rights in law; invested in education, including universal schools meals, as well as transportation and housing; created paid family leave; legalized cannabis; and passed gun control laws.

The encomiums poured in Saturday. “There is no greater champion for Minnesota’s working people than Melissa Hortman,” said Joel Smith, President and Business Manager of LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, the laborers union.

Hoffman was elected in 2012 and is known for his work on human services.

The Reformer sat down with Hortman at the Capitol on Thursday to discuss the 2025 session, which ended on Monday.

During his remarks Saturday, Walz denounced political violence and said the people involved in the shooting would be caught and held responsible.

“This was an act of targeted political violence. Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint,” Walz said.

According to a source close to Walz, the governor spoke to Vice President J.D. Vance about the targeted attacks in Minnesota. The governor thanked the vice president for the coordination between federal law enforcement and Minnesota public safety officials.

House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, who worked closely with Hortman in the Legislature to negotiate a state budget this year, said she was horrified by Hortman’s murder.

“I am horrified by the evil attack that took place overnight, and heartbroken beyond words by the loss of Speaker-Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark,” Demuth said in a statement.

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.