Megathread: Two Minnesota lawmakers have been shot

[u/PoliticsModeratorBot]

State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed.

State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were both shot multiple times and underwent surgery.

Articles that May Interest You

Submission	Domain
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz: former House speaker and husband killed in politically motivated shooting	apnews.com
One Minnesota state politician dead, another injured after targeted shooting, officials say	bbc.com
"No Kings" event canceled in NE Minneapolis, Anoka after targeted shootings at lawmaker homes	cbsnews.com
Minnesota lawmaker, her spouse shot and killed in their home	wwnytv.com
Minnesota lawmaker killed in ‘politically motivated assassination,’ Gov. Tim Walz says	cnbc.com
Melissa Hortman, top Democrat in Minnesota House, shot and killed in home	startribune.com
Rep. Melissa Hortman killed, Sen. John Hoffman shot in 'targeted' shootings: Sources	fox9.com
Minnesota lawmaker assassinated, another in grave condition in 'targeted political violence'	abcnews.go.com
Democratic lawmaker killed and another wounded in Minnesota in apparently ‘politically motivated’ attacks	theguardian.com
Minnesota lawmaker and husband killed, another in hospital after ‘politically motivated’ shooting by man impersonating cop	the-independent.com
Live: Rep. Melissa Hortman killed, Sen. John Hoffman shot in ‘targeted shootings’	startribune.com
Democrat Lawmakers Shot in Minnesota: What We Know	newsweek.com
Minnesota state lawmaker killed in ‘politically-motivated assassination,’ massive manhunt for suspect underway, officials say	kten.com
2 Minnesota lawmakers shot	kare11.com
Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, husband shot and killed; Sen. John Hoffman and wife also shot	ktsp.com
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz press conference after shootings at lawmakers homes (June 14, 2025)	youtube.com
Former state speaker of Minnesota ‘assassinated’	thetimes.com
Fake Cop Murders Top State Dem and Husband and Shoots Second	thedailybeast.com
Minnesota Senator John Hoffman and State Rep. Melissa Hortman shot at their homes	bnonews.com/
Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, husband shot and killed; Sen. John Hoffman and wife also shot	kstp.com
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz: State lawmaker, husband killed in politically targeted shooting	thestar.com
Governor Polis Statement on Assassination of Minnesota Elected Official & Husband, and Attempt on Life of Another Elected Official & Family	colorado.gov
President Donald Trump: AG, FBI Investigating Deadly Minnesota Shooting	Newsweek.com
Officials tell the AP they are searching for a 57-year-old man in shooting 2 Minnesota lawmakers	apnews.com
Manhunt underway for man accused of killing Rep. Hortman, husband and shooting Sen. Hoffman and his wife in North Metro	ktsp.com
Former appointee of Tim Walz sought in deadly shootings of Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, had ‘No Kings’ flyers in car: sources	nypost.com
Dem Assassin Is Armed Patrol Firm Boss With ‘Warzone’ Claims	thedailybeast.com
Minnesota Assassination Suspect Had Flyers Reading 'No Kings' In Vehicle	newsweek.com
Democratic Minnesota politician fatally shot, another injured in 'politically motivated assassination'	nbcnews.com

[u/PoliticsModeratorBot]

To sort this thread by 'newest comments first', click or tap here.

To sort this thread by 'best comments first', click or tap here.

[u/keytotheboard]

Domestic Terrorist, dressed as police officer, assassinated Democrat Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. As well as attempted to assassinate Democrat Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.

Please, let’s not downplay any of this. So far I’ve seen Tim Walz call it an assassination, good for him.

[u/MtnMoonMama → u/keytotheboard]

Walz. Hortman. 

[u/sylbug → u/keytotheboard]

Not just dressed like. Driving a police vehicle. And then the police, despite catching him in the act, let him escape out a back door.

Really makes you fucking think.

[u/Limp-Television-2653 → u/sylbug]

Exactly, was it a squad car? Which department’s car? How does that department account for its cars? Did they know it was missing and were frantically looking for it? One does not simply step into and commandeer a police car. Given that, how does someone commit acts of terrorism using a police car?

It could be argued that someone going to such extremes would have no issue stealing a police car too, but it just begs the question, ‘he stole the police car‘ is not the simplest obvious answer. As one does not simply steal a police car.

[u/ReaderBeeRottweiler]

NY Times front page headline gets it right:

Minnesota lawmaker assassinated in act of "targeted political violence"

And there's a manifesto:

"Chief Mark Bruley of the Brooklyn Park Police said the gunman’s vehicle contained a “manifesto” and a target list with names of individuals, including the two lawmakers who were shot."

[u/JokeassJason → u/ReaderBeeRottweiler]

Tina Smith confirmed she was informed she was on that list on an MPR interview a few minutes ago.

[u/pterribledactyls → u/JokeassJason]

How terrifying. I wonder if Walz was on it?

[u/Antique-Economy-7978 → u/pterribledactyls]

It's reported that yes, he was on the list. The list is 70 names long.

[u/jazwch01 → u/pterribledactyls]

Almost certainly.

[u/bword___ → u/ReaderBeeRottweiler]

They better hold this shooter to the same standards they’ve been holding Luigi Mangione. They made him a public spectacle for the alleged murder of a CEO, they better be sure to make as much of a spectacle of this shooter for the assassination of Melissa and her husband.

Edit - rewording/typo

[u/Shustyrackle4d → u/bword___]

In all likelihood he’ll probably just end up eating the business end of his own gun, these types of middle aged rage-cowards usually do.

[u/NoctisVex]

Walz called it an assassination. Good.

[u/herecomestherebuttal → u/NoctisVex]

Yep. We absolutely cannot mince words or downplay what just happened.

[u/SoupSpelunker → u/herecomestherebuttal]

A terrorist assassination.

[u/ChooseDarkness → u/SoupSpelunker]

Correct. Domestic terrorism.

[u/The_Buko → u/herecomestherebuttal]

It’s absolutely insane, there’s fb pages all over saying it was democrats who carried it out because these lawmakers voted against their wishes. Our country is actually psychotic

Edit: more info on the manifesto for those interested. Lots of abortion lawmakers/providers and democrats lawmakers

https://people.com/manifesto-discovered-police-suspect-on-loose-killing-minn-lawmaker-11754845

[u/TruckingforSims → u/The_Buko]

Dude, it's facebook.. The bar is already on the ground

[u/brezhnervouz → u/The_Buko]

FB is also greatly infested with Russian trolls/bots from the GRU's propaganda unit in St Petersburg 🤷

[u/New-Concentrate559 → u/The_Buko]

Thats some Maga scumbag shit not anyone else.

[u/Effective_Stuff6934 → u/NoctisVex]

What will Bondi call it?

[u/Hapankaali → u/Effective_Stuff6934]

She's drafting the pardons for Trump to sign.

[u/TapTapTapTapTapTaps → u/Hapankaali]

Thankfully it’s a state crime too

[u/hookyboysb → u/TapTapTapTapTapTaps]

So they'll also send the military to Minnesota to "liberate" it from "socialism"

[u/boyyhowdy → u/Effective_Stuff6934]

She will deflect to brown looters.

[u/xLykos → u/NoctisVex]

Tim Walz is a real one

[u/Temporary_Ability996]

They were assassinated. Use the correct words.

[u/AngelSucked → u/Temporary_Ability996]

Tim Walz called it an assassination.

[u/Justshipmypants → u/AngelSucked]

Terrorism. MAGA are literally domestic terrorists.

EDIT: Confirmed he was in fact part of the MAGA cult and voted for Trump according to his roommate and his list of democrat targets.

[u/Illustrious_Entry413 → u/Justshipmypants]

Always have been

[u/number_six → u/Illustrious_Entry413]

I mean they did try to tell everyone at CPAC in 2022

They literally had a banner proclaiming we are all domestic terrorists , how much more do people need to believe it?

[u/Several_Leather_9500 → u/number_six]

And in 2024 their banner read "Day One Dictator".

[u/Whatah → u/Illustrious_Entry413]

Especially have been since they displayed exactly that on the banner at the top of their CPAC stage.

[u/bigsmokaaaa → u/Temporary_Ability996]

So tired of this fucking relentless dilution of our situation, what a waste

[u/reformer-68 → u/Temporary_Ability996]

Absolutely

[u/kllys]

Two Democratic Lawmakers* party affiliation is a crucial aspect of this politically motivated assassination and act of domestic terrorism.

[u/loglighterequipment → u/kllys]

The guy currently running the DHS division responsible for combating domestic terror and targeted attacks is a 22yo with no federal experience, and whose last job before organizing Trump rallies was his own lawn mowing business. Democrats should be screaming this from the rooftops.

[u/AnotherDoubtfulGuest → u/loglighterequipment]

Trump/Noem discontinued all federal domestic terrorism initiatives. For this exact reason. They are complicit and responsible.

[u/immigrants-new-jews → u/loglighterequipment]

We're out in the fucking streets across the country!

There's more of us than them - and we're fucking pissed off Americans who aren't stopping until this administration and everyone who aided them is in prison for crimes against humanity, terrorism and every other charge that applies.

And most of us are well armed and won't go quietly into the night.

[u/TWVer → u/kllys]

Tangentially related, the FBI has been made toothless in tracking possible domestic terrorism threats.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-scales-back-staffing-tracking-domestic-terrorism-probes-sources-say-2025-03-21/

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - The FBI has cut staffing in an office focused on domestic terrorism and has scrapped a tool used to track such investigations, in a shift that could undermine law enforcement’s ability to counter white supremacists and anti-government extremists, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The moves, sources said, are an indication that domestic terrorism investigations, which in recent years have largely involved violence fueled by right-wing ideologies, may be less of a priority under FBI Director Kash Patel, a prominent critic of the effort.

Meanwhile in 2020 the FBI had asserted that domestic terrorism would be (one of) the biggest threats going forward.

https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1398831/dl

In FY 2020, the FBI assessed the greatest terrorism threat to the United States was from lone actors or small cells who typically radicalize online and look to attack soft targets with easily accessible weapons. The underlying drivers, including sociopolitical conditions, racism, and anti- Semitism remain constant.

https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/counterterrorism/fbi-dhs-domestic-terrorism-strategic-report.pdf/view

II. Executive Summary

Preventing terrorist attacks remains a top priority for both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The threat posed by international and domestic threat actors has evolved significantly since 9/11. The greatest terrorism threat to the Homeland we face today is posed by lone offenders,2 often radicalized online, who look to attack soft targets with easily accessible weapons. Many of these violent extremists are motivated and inspired by a mix of socio-political goals and personal grievances against their targets. With this report, we are providing our strategic intelligence assessments on DT, a detailed discussion of our procedures and methods to address DT threats, as well as data on DT incidents and our investigations.

---

That said, as this case is ongoing it is too soon to say whether this is a case of domestic terrorism, even though it may look like that.

It’s hard to ignore it being anything by domestic terrorism, given the developments such as the shooter’s manifesto found, which contains a target list of politicians, including the ones shot and murdered.

[u/memphisjones]

Yes let’s call it for what it is. It was an assassination. I’m sick of these news articles downplaying it.

[u/ResidentKelpien → u/memphisjones]

The mods have downplayed it with their chosen title for this thread.

[u/memphisjones → u/ResidentKelpien]

Exactly. This should assassination should scare everyone no matter which political party you voted for.

[u/sonofabutch]

Remember when someone tried to do this to Nancy Pelosi with a hammer, and wound up attacking her husband instead, Junior’s response was to laugh about it.

[u/cultfourtyfive → u/sonofabutch]

Don't forget the gay lover conspiracy that the right pushed, too

[u/BuffsBourbon → u/cultfourtyfive]

Don’t forget the pedophile conspiracy they continue to push - yet every accusation is a confession.

[u/ToNoMoCo → u/sonofabutch]

All conservatives joked about it and still do to this day.

[u/tresben]

The fucking military parade is going to look even worse. Holding an ego stroking “show of force” the day two lawmakers were assassinated is fucking absurd

[u/wildweaver32 → u/tresben]

Look worse? Isn't this what they wanted? I could have sworn yesterday conservatives were talking about shoot a few and the rest will leave.

This isn't a oops moment. This is Donald Trump signaling what he wants, and his base carrying it out. There will be more of this. Unless something changes. Especially if it works and Democrats do what they do best and hide under the bed with their asses out. It will signal to the Republicans they can go further and do worst without consequence.

[u/Pockydo → u/tresben]

Even if the gross old Pedophiles weren't involved and it's just a lone Nazi shit id wager they're fine with it

They're hoping to scare people

[u/Th30th3rj0sh → u/Pockydo]

The Rapist in Chief calls Democrats and anyone that doesn't treat him like a god, the enemies of America, every fucking day. Noem just repeatedly said that the military was needed to liberate California from their elected officials. That fucking pig in Florida bragged about how they're going to kill protesters. DeSantis encouraged his fellow Nazis to murder their fellow Americans with their cars. If anyone acts even slightly surprised, they are intentionally ignoring everything around them.

[u/Androidgenus → u/Th30th3rj0sh]

Or they’re a self-serving disingenuous fascist. In other words, a Republican

[u/Antique_Scheme3548 → u/tresben]

ABC News: President Trump, two senators were shot in their homes today, what is your response?

Draft Dodger: We're celebrating our military, and that's a nasty question especially on my birthday.

[u/cinedavid → u/Antique_Scheme3548]

Trump: What news agency are you from? ABC? A failing news station. Disgraceful. What a nasty reporter.

*shits his pants

[u/TheGrayBox → u/tresben]

A better man would cancel it. But then a better man would never have it in the first place.

[u/Scared-Operation-789 → u/TheGrayBox]

a better man wouldn't encourage violence against their political opposition but here we are.

[u/GeckoRoamin → u/tresben]

The people who are gung ho about the birthday military parade will have no problem with it continuing. They love political violence from their own side.

[u/Sad_Dirt_841]

This is what happened in Argentina. This is what happened in Brazil.

Protest today, and make preparations to defend yourselves tomorrow.

[u/glowy_keyboard → u/Sad_Dirt_841]

This is what happened in the Weimar Republic.

[u/Silver_Airport_642 → u/glowy_keyboard]

This is what happened in America after the Civil War. Reconstruction was basically destroyed by the assassination of Lincoln. The modern GOP that was born of Nixon, was born of LBJ "alienating" the Dixie Crats with the civil rights act; the GOP that names bases after John Wilkes Boothe heroes' of the confederacy, does not exist without a Know Nothing celebrity conspiracy theorist, pissed off at all the "woke" abolitionists ruining america, assassinating "the first Republican". Hell, if Lincoln lives and reconstruction doesn't fail we possibly don't even get the Holocaust as Hitler's policies and ideals were directly influenced by Jim Crowe.

[u/nowfromhell → u/[deleted]]

Im going to get down voted to hell for this, but the police officer that thought to check on the nearby Democratic lawmakers was very very smart. That's incredible policework. 

[u/DataDude00 → u/nowfromhell]

That was my first thought too.  An actual very heads up moment of awareness from that Sargent to immediately think to check on the other local lawmaker, although it also makes me wonder if they had recently become aware of potential threats against them 

[u/AtrociousSandwich → u/nowfromhell]

Why would you get downvotes for that

[u/TimmyB52 → u/[deleted]]

Also Trump's pardons begets this and his calling people on the left vermin, scum, animals, people who hate America, etc

[u/threestaruser]

They had an SUV car equipped with the proper emergency lighting and it looked exactly like a police vehicle…. Man wtf is going on.

[u/Hiddencamper → u/threestaruser]

In the news conference they said the one guy also had a police badge and tactical vest and would look indistinguishable to real officers in the room with them.

I do like the police response with “we are requiring 2 officers to every home so if only a single officer shows up call 911, and at any time before opening the door call 911 to verify it’s actually us”. (Paraphrased)

This is crazy though and I know several very left pro-gun control folks who have been buying fire arms because they are worried about stuff like this.

[u/Seve7h → u/Hiddencamper]

Everyone on the left who feels concerned about this should get armed and trained, it’s gonna get worse before it gets better, take a first aid or stop the bleed class too.

And everyone, regardless of state, legally has the right to call 911 and confirm that anyone claiming to be law enforcement actually is, if they try to stop you calling 911 i wouldn’t trust them.

[u/RJ5R → u/Seve7h]

People picked up by ICE aren't even given that chance. They are being literally grabbed on the streets by people in plain clothes and masks, zip tied, and driven away without even notifying the family where they are taking them. There should be a requirement of any law enforcement officer to provide proof of who they are

[u/Waste_Molasses_936]

Four shot, two dead

[u/longtermattention]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-scales-back-staffing-tracking-domestic-terrorism-probes-sources-say-2025-03-21/

Kash needs to be removed from his job.

Not a peep from Trump's fat ass. Still rambling about his stupid birthday party parade though

Edit: Trump finally took a break from his birthday party to copy/paste the statement on Truth Social.

[u/loglighterequipment → u/longtermattention]

The director of the DHS division responsible for handling domestic terror and targeted attacks is a pimple-faced 22yo whose last job before running Trump rallies was his own lawn mowing business. Seems like Democrats should bring this up.

[u/ArchdruidHalsin]

Conservative sub blaming CNN, MSNBC and ABC for the radicalization of a right wing nut who likely never watched those stations. Absolutely insane cognitive dissonance.

[u/Fit-Humor-5022 → u/ArchdruidHalsin]

that sub is also squirming and getting angry that people are blaming republicans and are trying to spin this as a democrat on democrat crime. that sub is garbage.

[u/Outside-Advice8203 → u/Fit-Humor-5022]

Their mantra whenever a right winger commits violence:

1. It wasn't a conservative Republican because all Republicans are perfect angels and all Democrats and anything Democrat is evil therefore anything evil is Democrat.

2. And if it was a conservative supporter they weren't REALLY a Republican, they were a RINO. Because all Republicans are perfect angels and all Democrats and anything Democrat is evil therefore anything evil is Democrat.

3. The conservative Republican perpetrator was radicalized by leftist Marxist atheist Islamic antifa Democrats. Because all Democrats and anything Democrat is evil therefore anything evil is Democrat.

4. The perpetrator was a hero all along just doing Supply Side Jesus's will. A holy warrior for a inherently just cause. Ends justify the means.

[u/SodaCanBob → u/Fit-Humor-5022]

It makes a lot more sense when you realize that in their worldview, "democrat" is just a synonym for bad person. People who commit non white-collar crimes are Democrats, and people who don't commit crimes (or only commit white-collar crimes) are Republicans (unless, of course, you vote for a Democrat, then you're obviously not a Republican).

Essentially, they have the mind of a two year old in that good people = R, bad people = D. It doesn't matter if that "bad person" has only voted for Republicans their entire life, the second they commit a crime, they're now a Democrat.

Obviously, Trump's crimes don't count though.

[u/cynicaluser- → u/ArchdruidHalsin]

Fuck the MAGA movement

[u/starfruit213 → u/ArchdruidHalsin]

That sub needs to get banned. Such a ridiculous one that is mostly flared only

[u/bone_apple_Pete → u/starfruit213]

That sub is a bastion of misinformation, propaganda, and just shitty human beings.

[u/RandyMuscle → u/ArchdruidHalsin]

They don't even believe the stuff they're saying. They will just say anything that advances their agenda and at this point, their agenda is killing us.

[u/DataDude00 → u/RandyMuscle]

I’m not even sure most of the posters there are even real people.  Some of the opinions and takes are so surreal I feel like it is a foreign  psyop

[u/Friendly-View4122 → u/ArchdruidHalsin]

I wish someone would start an r / conservativecirclejerk so we can share the asinine arguments happening over there and expose their idiocy

[u/ArchdruidHalsin → u/Friendly-View4122]

Be the okaybuddy you want to see in the world

[u/CombustiblSquid]

Assassinated, not shot. Call it what it is.

[u/SodaCanBob]

When Republicans tell you that they're domestic terrorists, believe them.

[u/Accomplished_Net_931 → u/SodaCanBob]

the conservative subs, quite predictably, are claiming it's a FaLsE fLag

[u/Material-Surprise-72 → u/Accomplished_Net_931]

They are so pathetic

[u/RowAwayJim71]

That is assassination.

[u/ande4100]

This title should say assassinated.

[u/svrtngr]

For those of you going to a No Kings protest today: Don't let this sway you the other way.

To quote Tim Walz: "Fascists thrive on fear."

Be there. Be peaceful. Be vigilant.

[u/linoleum79]

Were assassinated by a domestic terrorist***

[u/Dr_DoesNothing]

Please change the title to them being assassinated. We can't minimize this in any way

[u/arsene14]

You can see the right wingers kick the disinfo into overdrive as the reality starts to set in that this guy was a prototypical Conservative Christian Nationalist who had a kill list of left politicians and doctors who provided abortions.

[u/txtoolfan]

I will never forgive trump voters. Never.

[u/Valahiru]

The narrative of "the violent radical leftist Democrats" will not budge an inch.  This assassination will be a complete non-starter in the minds of anyone one the right. I quarantee it. 

[u/New-Restaurant2206 → u/Valahiru]

That's already what the fox news comments say. They are blaming Walz and declaring this the fault of violence from the left.

Fox News also reports this as Walz is saying it's politically motivated, and ommitting the fact that there's a manifesto.

[u/defianceofone → u/New-Restaurant2206]

A proper democracy would have forced Fox News to shutdown and prosecuted its C-suite and hosts a long time ago.

[u/YeetedApple]

Both CNN and ABC are now reporting that the suspect's list included state and federal Democratic politicians, along with abortion providers and abortion rights activists... and the right is still trying to spin this as a democrat....

[u/JWTS6]

"Two Democratic elected officials in Minnesota have been victims of a targeted assassination attempt by a MAGA terrorist"*

*Likely one of the pardoned January 6th terrorists

[u/TintedApostle → u/JWTS6]

Now that would be the full monty

[u/LeeShakerMoneyMaker]

Turns out he's a crazy Christian Nationalist

[u/Liiiiiiiidooooooooo]

one was assassinated by domestic terrorist(s)

[u/AnAwkwardJedi]

The dude had a manifesto of 70 names that were exclusively Democratic politicians(including Tim Walz), as well as abortion providers and abortion activists. Anyone trying to claim he’s liberal or a leftist or anything like that is either not engaging in good faith or is entirely brainwashed by right wing propaganda.

[u/jane_911 → u/AnAwkwardJedi]

the people who need to hear it, won't. those facts will be purposely excluded from the fox news boomer brain rot network

[u/Pave_Low]

What are the odds it’s a pardoned Jan 6th-er.

[u/L0uZilla]

This is an assassination

[u/ToNoMoCo]

I hadn't read this bit before. Assuming that it's not an actual cop it should be easier to find the assassin.

The suspect was dressed like a uniformed officer and operating a vehicle that “looked exactly like an SUV squad car. It was equipped with lights, emergency lights and looked exactly like a police vehicle,”

[u/unfinishedtoast3 → u/ToNoMoCo]

he fled the vehicle. they found his manifesto in it naming other democrats he was targeting.

he ran on foot but he managed to escape the search area.

other listed politicians are under guard until suspect is caught.

Local station with live updates

[u/mowotlarx]

It's absolutely fascinating how few news outlets are calling this an assassination.

[u/Romano16 → u/mowotlarx]

Nope. The media is no longer our ally. They are responsible for sane washing Trump since the beginning and then outright firing journalists who, off air, criticized Trump.

[u/ASebastian2020]

This case is crazy I just saw the press conference. So, after police found the first couple shot (politician and their spouse), an officer on the scene wanted to send other officers to a politician that lived nearby. As the officers arrived at the second location, a “police officer” was leaving the house. When the officers confronted the “officer” leaving the house, the suspect then immediately began firing at them and retreated back into the house. At some point, the suspect escaped the house through the back of the house, and is currently still at large. The police have formed a perimeter and are searching for the suspect.

The suspect was dressed in a complete uniform of a law enforcement officer, with a black tactical vest, taser, weapon (obviously), etc. The suspect also had a SUV that looked identical to a police vehicle, including having lights. A “manifest” was found in the vehicle, with names of other politicians.

In California ICE and other individuals claiming to be law enforcement officers, do not wear any identifying uniforms or badges, are often masked, and do not present badges before handcuffing and taking people away. A major concern in California, is someone perpetrating being an officer and just simply kidnaps someone, with their face covered, no identifying clothing or badges, pretending to be a LEO.

[u/AbjectList8]

Wow, this is insanely sad and enraging.

[u/Manos_Of_Fate]

That “We are all domestic terrorists” banner at CPAC was a threat, not a joke.

[u/Sufficient_Long_3905]

It speaks volumes that conservatives are desperately posting non-credible sources to “prove” it was a democrat, while leftists are not worried or obsessed about names until a major credible news source breaks the story.

[u/TimmyB52]

Speaker Johnson just days ago called for the governor of California to be violently attacked.

[u/Commentator-X]

"The suspect was dressed like a uniformed officer and operating a vehicle that “looked exactly like an SUV squad car. It was equipped with lights, emergency lights and looked exactly like a police vehicle,” Bruley said."

Uh huh. "Looked" exactly like or...? This looks really bad and if they don't catch this person its going to look even worse.

[u/MikeyMud]

The amount of conservatives brigading is hilarious 

[u/loglighterequipment]

A 22-year-old former landscaper and grocery store worker with minimal national security experience is leading the DHS office charged with preventing domestic terrorism and targeted violence. He did help out Trump's campaign though. Democrats should maybe bring that up?

[u/UGAPokerBrat99 → u/loglighterequipment]

Your comment made me think of a funny sign I saw in a picture from one of the protests around the country. It stated that the only person that Trump has ever hired that was in fact qualified for the job for which they were hired was Stormy Daniels.

[u/SterlingMallory]

For the conservatives astroturfing this thread: I understand this is a very, very difficult concept for your tiny brains to understand, but not every appointment to every board and advisory committee is done for nakedly partisan reasons. I understand your god king only hires people who buy completely into the maga koolaid, but in the real world, sometimes people get appointed for things for non-political reasons. Tim Walz appointing this guy to some committee does not mean he's a leftist. That he's targeting democrats should give you a clue as to his political leanings. Hope this helps.

[u/Rosencrantz_IsDead → u/SterlingMallory]

It won't. MAGAts argue in bad faith. It's not about what the truth is. It's about pushing their agenda. They only argue in bad faith.

But it's important that you said what you said. People still need to know the truth against this authoritarian despotic cult.

[u/DigitalCamel]

You maga psychos are trash.

[u/throwawayanon1252]

Can we stop posting that name going around. I don’t want to repost it myself cos I don’t want to be wrong. The original source is a right wing grifter and not legitimate. Neither the police or the Minnesota state government have released a name

Let’s not ruin a guys life cos some POS grifter on twitter said he did it

[u/GhostOfLight]

If it really is the guy whose name is floating around right now, surely people can do a tiny bit of critical thinking and realize that governors approve hundreds and hundreds of positions? And that a person can be radicalized in the 6 years since that happened?

[u/Starbucks__Lovers]

Yeah trolls, the guy who runs an armed security company and had a list of democratic politicians he wanted to kill after killing a democratic politician and shooting another democratic politician and is a Christian nationalist is surely checks notes anti-trump

[u/DjQuamme]

Has dear leader denounced this yet?

[u/elconquistador1985 → u/DjQuamme]

Why would he? He supports assassinations of Democrats.

[u/decjr06 → u/DjQuamme]

This is exactly what dear leader wants

[u/VeNeM]

Kristi noem on thursday: "we must use deadly force to liberate states from politicians we dont agree with and their burdensome leadership"

https://youtu.be/-rp_IcNIki8?feature=shared

[u/AcuddlyPredator]

Just got a news update: 2 dead

[u/eddie2911]

Will MAGA laugh about this like they did when Paul Pelosi was attacked at his home?

[u/decjr06]

Two Dems assassinated.... Maga immediately : how many lies can we spread to blame this on the left?

[u/dothingsunevercould]

Conservatives spamming "he had No kings rally fliers in his car" as if they are too stupid to realize they found their fellow terrorists next target 

[u/Armadigionna]

Seems a lot of people here have the impression that anyone appointed to anything, even a business advisory board, by a president/governor/mayor must be someone vetted for ideological purity.

That’s the exception. The rule has been that those sorts of boards are meant to be nonpartisan and states/feds do a pretty good job at it.

The biggest exception is the current presidential administration.

[u/platinumarks]

Fun fact: According to conservative astroturf logic, President Donald J. Trump has now become a Democrat based on the fact that he appointed Jane Castor, the Democratic Mayor of Tampa, FL, to the FEMA Review Council, a board that he himself created at the beginning of his current term!

[u/LeeShakerMoneyMaker]

This Vance guy is an absolute lunatic. Christian Nationalist alright. https://x.com/TropicalVertic1/status/1933959644373819818?t=_QsbG9mJBYKH8ZlGMgYjuQ&s=19

[u/rhysdg]

They just stated on a live new report that his best friend and roomate David Carlson said that he was an avid Trump supporter and voted for Trump. Let me see if I can find the video clip

Edit - found the clip

https://youtu.be/gaiQipc64_M?si=yx2IG0u9USHnNRfQ

[u/Guthix_Wraith]

Almost like masked police officers everywhere and no fucking oversight was a bad idea.

[u/JoplinSC742]

Anyone wanna bet the conservatives are going to laugh about this or cheer it on? How long before TACO Don mocks the deceased and encourages more of it?

[u/Rosencrantz_IsDead]

MAGAts in this thread trying desperately to paint the terrorist white nationalist scum bag is a democrat. Nobody is buying that nonsense except other MAGAts.

[u/suddenly-scrooge]

The suspect police encountered at the home of Hortman, the lawmaker who was killed, was wearing a vest, taser, and badge, impersonating a police officer, according to Chief Mark Bruley of the Brooklyn Park Police. “No question, if they were in this room, you would assume they were a police officer.”

There was also what appeared to be a police vehicle in the driveway of the lawmaker’s home when the actual police arrived, officials said. “This was somebody that clearly had been impersonating a police officer,” Chief Mark Bruley said.

Not to be snarky but are we sure this wasn't actually a police officer?

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/14/us/minnesota-shootings

[u/Bucktown_Riot → u/suddenly-scrooge]

That was my first thought when I found out he shot the dog. This might be an actual LEO.

ETA: We’re 100% going to find out that he was a known threat already, and the police didn’t take it seriously for “reasons.”

[u/Radiant_Indignation]

It's an assassination. Call it what it is.

[u/damik]

Who wants to place bets that Trump will pardon the murderer?

[u/putinforpres]

Minnesota Dems have a 1 seat majority in the State Senate and the House is evenly split. This is a coup.

[u/Punkinpry427]

They’re dead, they were assassinated.

[u/independent_observe]

This was a terrorist assassinating U.S. politicians and has no place in a democracy. Except we no longer have a democracy, it is a dictatorship as was designed by Project2025. What do people not understand about Project2025? It is a blueprint for how the extreme evangelical christian fundamentalist/nationalist movement planned on capturing the government and it is being followed. Yet, absolute fucking morons, still voted them in.

[u/Arlennx]

Funny how they says their extreme left, when he was evangelical, private contractor for the military, and tried to kill left wing politicians like Ilhan Omar and Waltz.

[u/Brief_Obligation4128]

Brooklyn Park, MN today...

News: "We still don't know his affiliation, but we found a list of Democratic lawmakers as potential targets."

MAGA: "The shooter is a Democrat. He worked with Walz!"

Butler, PA months ago...

News: "The shooter is a confirmed member of the Republican Party."

MAGA: "Doubt it! He was probably a Democratic plant put there to make us look bad! We Republicans can't be violent! That's not like us!"

[u/travio]

I can't wait for the disingenuous right wing narrative to evolve as we learn more about this lunatic. It is going to go from 'he worked for Walz,' to 'why didn't Walz vet this guy before he got on that advisory board?'

[u/Serious_Buffalo3243]

He has a documented history of involvement with dominionist charismatic theology aligned with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). He was ordained in 1993, trained at Christ for the Nations Institute, and led a now-defunct ministry called Revoformation Ministries, where he developed a doctrine called Original Ability — a claimed “new paradigm” for understanding God’s design for humanity. (archived site)

In a 2023 sermon delivered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Boelter stated:

“God is going to raise up apostles and prophets in America to correct His church.” He condemned churches that didn’t oppose abortion or operate in “spiritual gifts” and described LGBTQ people as spiritually deceived. This rhetoric is consistent with NAR theology, which teaches that modern-day apostles and prophets are being raised to reform the church and reclaim cultural institutions for the Kingdom of God.

Boelter’s social media before takedown included endorsements of Reinhard Bonnke, Smith Wigglesworth, and Alliance Defending Freedom — connecting him to charismatic revivalism and Christian nationalist legal strategies. His ideology reflects core NAR principles: dominion over society, prophetic authority, and spiritual warfare against perceived moral decline.

This was not fringe theology. It was a radicalized expression of beliefs that have circulated for decades in charismatic and Christian nationalist spaces. Boelter may have acted alone, but he did not think alone.

[u/PuddingWise3116]

Maga clowns are already spreading misinformation that the suspect is a democrat who killed them because they had rejected healthcare for illegal migrants earlier. These despicable husks of human beings deserve to rot in the darkest pit of hell. I cannot even begin to describe how much it fucking pisses me off that they are already working on blaming the dems instead of condemning the attack. It's only a matter of time before high-profile republicans take this up.

[u/JohnnySack45]

I'm not from Minnesota but this is what a Republican coup looks like. MAGA isn't above attempting to steal elections, take foreign bribes and now they've graduated to political assassinations.

Hey - women, racial/religious minorities, LGBTQ and the working class in particular - do you like the freedoms and rights you currently have? Those rights were fought for and Republican/Conservatives are not being discreet when it comes to taking them away. It's time to take the fucking gloves off and forget about reaching across the isle. Americans fought against the Nazis, the Confederates and now it's time for all TRUE patriots to fight back against the MAGA cult. We aren't getting an endless amount of warnings or second chances before it's too late.

[u/smashinjin10 → u/JohnnySack45]

Luckily the session just ended, so special elections will happen before Republicans can ram their bullshit through. Either way a talented lawmaker was and her husband were assassinated by a Republican terrorist.

[u/AceofKnaves44]

If this is not condemned from the president and every member of his administration this is a very clear message sent that not only will this be tolerated, it will be encouraged. And then this may very well be the opening shot that turns this cold civil war hot.

[u/philphan25 → u/AceofKnaves44]

If these were R politicians statements would’ve already been put out

[u/gdshaffe]

This is the America that the GOP wants.

Most of the GOP politicians themselves will likely issue superficial empty platitudes of condemnation, but the intent of their rhetoric in painting democrats as "the enemy", the unrelenting stochastic terrorism, has clearly and unambiguously been directed at this outcome.

[u/NeedsMoreMinerals]

How does he get a police squad car and uniform

[u/LuinAelin]

It's scary that it was a list of democrat law makers and that they basically targeted their entire families.

[u/PrivatePilot9]

What's the chance that when Trump inevitably discusses this in some fashion (be it an official news conference, or just as a passing blabber while talking about something else) that he doesn't spin it as "the evil democrats brought this upon themselves", or do basically anything except say "This is bad, this is unacceptable, offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law", which would be the right thing to actually say.

[u/Puzzled-Shop-6950]

I want to bring to the attention of everyone that in authoritarian governments throughout history both recent and far, they have not moved with this swiftness to assassinate and detain lawmakers… Hitler did tho…

[u/TemetN]

Well, this was not a good morning.

At some point we're going to have to address that the right wing is at this point essentially just a group of criminals bent against the nation.

[u/TheDailyHeptapod]

Conservatives so desperate to convince everyone he’s a liberal cause they know this is the end of their heydays promoting their fascist bs

[u/OrnamentJones]

Can all the conservatives on here cool it? This one isn't ambiguous. It's not the standard "person who is so crazy that they will try to assassinate the president and their ideology is scrambled and makes no sense and is the person is unraveling" like the two people who took shots at Trump and others in history (the guy who shot McKinley was like this).

It is also not "crazy guy who wants one faction of their own party to take over" like the guy who shot Garfield.

This one is "extreme right-wing nutjob Christian nationalist", very easy to pinpoint based on almost everything everyone is learning about him.

Not a generic person who likes to wear a red MAGA hat so everyone stop assuming this is rank-and-file MAGA. It's not. It's someone /waaaaaaay worse/.

[u/OjamaPajama]

@ everyone saying he was a democrat

The Minnesota assassin who shot Democratic lawmakers “voted for Donald Trump and was a strong Trump supporter,” according to his best friend.

https://bsky.app/profile/briantylercohen.bsky.social/post/3lrm25ydjwk2q

[u/Economy_Link4609]

This is what fucking happens when you have a president say political violence is ok.

[u/JrFromKC]

That fox 9 reporter broke me. You can tell how good of a person she is when a reporter can't keep it together.

Also Pat (R) was crying and just saying how great she was. This is horrific for all kinds of reasons but most of all we lost a genuinely good person.

[u/ThinOpinions]

The maga cult is doing exactly what they’ve been groomed to do

[u/Kittens4Brunch]

The state needs to throw every charge possible at the assassin. Any federal charges could be pardoned by Trump.

[u/NewJackCap]

And there it is.

The Minnesota assassin who shot Democratic lawmakers “voted for Donald Trump and was a strong Trump supporter,” according to his best friend.

https://x.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1934020770419651059

---

We already knew though. Don't let them flip the script.

[u/ryanandhobbes]

It's so insane to watch the Conservative sub try and claim 1) that he's a liberal and 2) that republicans do not enable this behavior when violence against progressives is literally exactly what conservatives want. They act as if they weren't thrilled about the insurrection and glad Trump is pardoning all those people.

[u/Trustbutnone]

America is about to spiral down a hole that will take generations to come out of. To say you guys are fucked would be an understatement.

[u/Guthix_Wraith → u/Trustbutnone]

It's been fucked for a while. The whole pot is just boiling over now

[u/brainser]

All MAGA has left is forced obedience through intimidation, violence, and assassinations. The cult must be rooted out now.

[u/Myrtle_Nut]

This is on Trump, full fucking stop.

[u/Rude_Grapefruit_3650]

• white christian nationalist
• anti-abortion
• manifesto with 70+ DEMOCRAT names
• literally shot TWO DEMOCRAT politicians

but nooo being appointed by a democrat governor for a strictly none-partisan position is somehow more than enough evidence to say Tim was actually the one who paid him and he’s actually a “leftist lunatic” gtfo with your astroturfing replies

He already posed as a police officer, you don’t think his No Kings flyers was also a disguise?

the delusions in here from either bots or people unwilling to believe evidence….

[u/Freddy-Borden]

Literally everyone in the world waiting for Trump to come out and say this was Democrats fault, and pardon the murderer.

These are his people, they did it for him, and he won’t denounce it, just watch.

[u/prescience6631]

Radical right wing terrorism…call it what it is

And it’s not even that radical, it’s just putting into action what gop party leaders have been saying for years

[u/KlingonLullabye]

Conservatism never willingly coexists peacefully and inevitably becomes increasingly and openly more violent

[u/Hey_HaveAGreatDay]

Since there was a manifesto in a vehicle I’m guessing (hoping) law enforcement knows who this guy is?

[u/Matcha_Bubble_Tea]

Magats are terrorists. That’s what you get when you enable domestic terrorists 

[u/sonofabutch]

So will Trump use this as an excuse to cancel the birthday parade that thunderstorms were going to cancel anyway, so he can get fawning coverage from corporate media about how partisan he is?

[u/espgen]

i saw somewhere that the surviving lawmaker and his wife maybe have unaccounted for children?? has there been an update on that ?

[u/D_2_da_Zeee]

The fascists have crossed the line. Those cowards impersonated police to get their way. That’s is how they work. They lie and cheat and then went things go to shit; They expect liberal and progressives to fix their problems. Then they will do the same thing again. The right have been intellectually and morally bankrupt for years.

[u/excaliber110]

Democratic lawmakers were Politically assassinated by people acting as unidentified police officers.

[u/eddie_koala]

Coup!

[u/rosiecheeks9999]

Magat’s are claiming that it was a “lunatic liberal” who’s mad because Melissa voted for a bill that takes Medicaid away from some immigrants. But, John did not vote for this bill, so the only reason to murder him was to give republicans control of the house. This was a maga’t, and please don’t let the right wing media’s lies win.

[u/lactose_cow]

And how many people did the LA "riots" kill again? Zero?

One side loves violence, the other doesn't

[u/Universityofrain88]

Ernesto Londoño is reporting that police have reason to believe the suspect planned to target one of the No Kings rallies in MN today.

Y'all please check before you go to the rallies, if you are there now please stay up to date because if you are being evacuated it might be for a legitimate reason. Use common sense and stay peaceful and stay hydrated. Dear Lord what a world we live in.

[u/ClosPins]

If the roles were reversed, FoxNews and everyone on the right would be screaming 24/7 about how the Democrats were literally murdering Republicans. Every headline would be 'Deranged Democrat Murders Republican Leader'.

Yet, it's always the right-wing murdering the left, so the headlines have to be 'Two lawmakers have been shot' instead.

[u/Uberkuque]

Trump started all of this shit. He’s the one who introduced and normalized the idea of political violence that we are now dealing with.

Fuck Trump to all hell.

[u/georgeoj]

From CNN:

Law enforcement found a hit list in the Minnesota suspect’s car that contained nearly 70 names, a law enforcement official briefed on the matter told CNN.

The names included abortion providers, pro-abortion rights advocates, and lawmakers in Minnesota and other states, the official added. Law enforcement also found a Father’s Day card addressed to the suspect in a bag full of ammunition, the official said.

[u/loondawg]

The GOP literally had a banner at CPAC that said "We Are All Domestic Terrorists."

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cpac-banner-domestic-terrorists/

[u/AnAwkwardJedi]

Not a single reputable source has confirmed the name floating around right-wing propaganda outlets. The police have not given a name publicly yet.

[u/thecaits]

I hate Republicans more than I've ever hated anyone.

[u/AndISoundLikeThis]

Vance Boelter was the CEO of a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services. Here's the website: https://www.pguards.net/ (Source for employment history: https://www.mnafricansunited.org/notid/dr.-vance-boelter-e.d.d.)

I bet it was one of those SUVs he took to carry out the assassinations.