A terrible crime has gripped the country. On Sunday, police arrested and charged 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter with the murders of Melissa Hortman, the Democratic Speaker of the Minnesota House, and her husband. That same deadly attack injured State Senator John Hoffman and his wife. The humanitarian disaster has been compounded by a deluge of rampant disinformation. Right-wing social media accounts and leaders are doing everything possible to depict Boelter as a dangerous radical left-wing terrorist.
One serious incident Boelter was arrested in authorities say they are sounding alarm bells across the political spectrum. Melissa Hortman was an iconic presence in Minnesota politics, and her death has left the local political community reeling. The attack on Hoffman and his wife — both victims of violent crime — served to amplify the tragedy of this moment even further.
Boelter’s political affiliations have come under scrutiny. In 2004, he registered to vote as a Republican in Oklahoma. Former longtime friends painted in him the picture of a right wing extremist. He previously worked as an itinerant preacher and enchanted many with his inflammatory commentary on abortion. In a 2023 recorded sermon, he had the audacity to proclaim, “The churches are so screwed up, they don’t even realize that abortion’s wrong.”
The potential consequences of Boelter’s actions sparked intense debate between political analysts and entertainers. Laura Loomer, right-wing activist, suggested that “Walz’s goons are now assassinating lawmakers who support legislation Walz doesn’t want.” This comment is telling, as it captures the intense political mood surrounding what happened—and the efforts to connect it to larger political narratives.
Musk took to Twitter to weigh in on the developing situation. He said, “the far left is murderously violent,” fueling the fires of the months long, coordinated, and false misinformation campaign. Critics of this narrative claim that the story is not responsibly rooted. Harry Niska, an attorney representing Widman, said there is not a responsible basis to connect any of Vance Boelter’s dastardly deeds to his client. He definitely took an unyielding stand on the issue.
The probe into Boelter’s history only uncovers more layers. He was initially nominated to a 60-member volunteer advisory board by Tim Walz’s predecessor in 2016. As Tim Walz has already admitted, he did not know Boelter personally. It is the broken connection that is most glaring. It gets more absurd still with allegations that Boelter attended radical leftist protests, such as wearing a t-shirt that proclaims her intent to “resist.” Right-wing influencers have attempted to portray this as evidence of leftist affiliations, despite Boelter’s clear identification as an evangelical Trump supporter.
Tina Smith, a U.S. Senator from Minnesota, recently denounced the galvanizing misinformation proliferating online. She called it “brutal and cruel,” zeroing in on social media posts by folks such as Mike Lee that misrepresent what’s going on. She urged those spreading misinformation to consider the consequences of their words: “He should think about the implications of what he’s saying and doing. It only exacerbates this animus and this misinformation.”
Further complicating matters is the effect of the confusion on yet another Jennifer Boelter, who did internship work for then-Congressman Tim Walz’s office. Social media is abuzz with assertions that she may have been linked to the notorious Vance Luther Boelter. Thousands of users are pressuring you to be transparent about that relationship.
While investigations are still ongoing, communities are left to process the horrible loss of Melissa Hortman’s partner in life. This incident is a sober reminder of just how fast misinformation can spread during a crisis, as it did in the case of Senator Hoffman and his wife.