Right-Wing Propaganda Spins Up Fake Profile Of Minnesota Assassin
In the early hours of June 14, Vance Boelter allegedly shot two Minnesota Democratic state lawmakers in their homes while impersonating law enforcement — Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman, along with their spouses. Hortman and her husband were killed, and Hoffman and his wife are recovering from their injuries. While the public waited for more information about the suspect and his motives, right-wing media began to speculate wildly about Boelter, spinning a false narrative that he was a leftist figure aligned with Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.
The evidence for this theory is scarce: Conservative media suggested Boelter killed Hortman for breaking from the Democrats on a recent vote to give undocumented immigrants health care. Right-wing media also referenced the flyers from Saturday’s “No Kings” protest that were found in the suspect’s vehicle and pointed to the fact that Boelter was appointed by Walz to a bipartisan working group in 2019, with one figure saying that “he was friends with Walz” and another claiming the governor is “directly connected to a domestic terrorist.” Some even speculated that Walz put a “political hit” out on the lawmakers in retaliation for their vote — even as reports surfaced that the governor himself was on a list of targets found in the suspect’s vehicle — and demanded that someone “investigate.” The narrative snowballed over the weekend, culminating in a sick post from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), which suggested that the shooter was a “Marxist.”
As more information surfaced, a very different picture emerged: The suspect left behind a “hit list” of 70 targets, including abortion providers and other Minnesota Democrats. Walz, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and state Attorney General Keith Ellison were all on the list. The suspect’s friend described him as a supporter of Trump who enjoyed watching Alex Jones’ Infowars and said that Boelter “would be offended if anyone called him a Democrat.” Wiredreported that Boelter is linked to evangelical ministries and is “president of Revoformation Ministries.” The report also said that the suspect has preached against abortion and the LGBTQ community. Additionally, he “liked” the right-wing legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom on Facebook.
By the time the actual facts emerged, the right’s reckless and conspiratorial speculation had done its job, muddying the waters with misinformation claiming the shooter was a left-wing associate of Walz, which quickly spread across social media.
- Alec Lace of The Alec Lace Show drew the connection to Hortman’s vote on undocumented immigrants in a 12:10 p.m. ET tweet on Saturday. “Melissa Hortman sounded fearful after voting to repeal healthcare for illegal aliens. Almost as if she knew that her base would become unhinged. She and her husband were tragically shot and killed. A targeted attack, per Gov. Walz. Was her vote the motive?” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25]
- At 12:50 p.m. ET on Saturday, TheBlaze’s Julio Rosas posted that the shooter was “appointed to the Governor’s Workforce Development Board in 2019 by Gov. Tim Walz.” He wrote:“BREAKING: I'm told by a police source in Minnesota the suspect in the shootings of MN state lawmakers is Vance Luther Boelter. It appears it is the same Boelter who was appointed to the Governor’s Workforce Development Board in 2019 by Gov. Tim Walz. He appointed to the Governor's Workforce Development Council in 2016 by then-Gov. Mark Dayton.” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25]
- Trump ally Laura Loomer called for Walz to be “detained by the FBI and interrogated.” She wrote, “The media wants to gaslight you into thinking the shooter in Minnesota is a Trump supporter. He was appointed by Walz. He was friends with Walz. And he had NO KINGS flyers in his car. No Kings is a violent group and it’s no surprise the shooting took place the day the NO KINGS protests kicked off across the country. The organizers of NO KINGS and @GovTimWalz need to be detained by the FBI and interrogated.” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25]
- Right-wing commentator Nick Sortor posted that the shooter goes “WAY back” with Walz and that their connections must be investigated. He wrote: “WTF? It seems ass*ssin Vance Boulter’s wife, Jenny, ALSO worked for Tim Walz. She worked for him in Washington, DC in the early 2010s while he was a Congressman. Their connections to Walz go WAY back! Must investigate!” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25]
- Conservative personality Dinesh D’Souza posted about the “No Kings” flyers. Along with an image of the flyers, he wrote: “This photo is from inside the vehicle of the suspect in the targeted killing of two Democratic officials who were opposed to the Left’s free health care for illegals scheme.” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25]
- Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson questioned whether the shooting is a “massive false flag.” He added that “nothing seems to make sense” and that what happened is “very strange and very dark and very evil.” [YouTube, The Benny Show, 6/16/25]
- Right-wing troll Mike Cernovich claimed that Walz is a “terrorist” and asked if he “activate[d] an assassin against a political rival.” He wrote, “Did Tim Walz activate an assassin against a political rival who voted against him plan to give illegal immigrants free healthcare?” Cernovich called Walz a “terrorist” and said that he is “directly connected to a domestic terrorist, that is confirmed, the only question is whether Tim Walz himself ordered the political hit against a rival who voted against Walz’s plan to give free healthcare to illegals.” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25, 6/14/25, 6/14/25]
- Infowars’ Alex Jones said that the shooting “has got the signs of setup all over it,” suggesting Boelter will be found dead. He continued to suggest that the shooting was a “false flag.” Jones said he would be “very surprised if they catch him in the manhunt now. No, he’s dead in a barn somewhere.” (Boelter was caught and charged Sunday night.) [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 6/15/25; Minnesota Star Tribune, 6/16/25]
- Jones also said, “The commies are planning their uprising.” [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 6/15/25]
- A user on X received 53 million views on a post that claimed that “the left has become a full blown domestic terrorist organization.” TheBlaze columnist Auron MacIntyre replied, adding that “until the GOP is ready to go after the left the way the Democrats go after the right, progressive terrorists will continue to kill Americas.” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25, 6/14/25]
- The New York Post further fanned the flames with the headline “Former appointee of Tim Walz sought in ‘politically motivated assassination’ of lawmaker and husband in creepy mask.” Rupert Murdoch’s outlet also wrote that “officials were mum on the motives — though it came just five days after Hortman sided with Republican leaders as the lone Democrat to cut access to state health benefits for illegal immigrants in the North Star State.” [New York Post, 6/14/25]
- Trump ally Charlie Kirk blamed “No Kings” protests for the “violent political radicalization.” He wrote:“Tim Walz has reportedly backed out, but he was slated to headline the Twin Cities No Kings ‘protest’ today. Total shocker that smearing a duly-elected president who won an overwhelming electoral mandate as a fascist or a king leads to violent political radicalization.” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25]
- Rumble host Viva Frei falsely claimed that the shooter’s wife, Jenny, interned for Walz and called the shooter a “longtime associate of Tim Walz.” In reality, a Walz spokesperson said the Jennifer Boelter who interned for Walz is a different person entirely.[Twitter/X, 6/14/25; Minnesota Star Tribune, 6/15/25]
- X user Rod D. Martin claimed without evidence: “BREAKING: Tim Walz deletes all posts mentioning Vance Boelter.” The post earned over 700,000 views. [Twitter/X, 6/15/25]
- On Newsmax, host Lidia Curanaj framed the story as “violence we are seeing from the left” and called the shooter a “Democrat.” She claimed that people said, “his must be some right-wing extremism. Then we come to find out this is a Tim Walz appointee. This is a Democrat. Talk to me about that, about the violence that we are seeing from the left.” Her guest, podcaster Stuart Kaplan, said that “Democrats are failing to really come out and condemn and attempt to try to quell the violence that clearly has been percolating for some period of time.” Curanaj also brought up that Hortman “voted against health care for illegal aliens” before pivoting to “the media’s role in this.” Kaplan said there is “too much of a division with respect to what is truth and then what we have been selling as fiction” and that “it is becoming more and more irresponsible to kind of fan these flames.” [Newsmax, Sunday Agenda, 6/15/25]
- On Fox & Friends Weekend, guest host Charles Hurt pointed out that Hortman “had voted against a priority of many Democrats.” His guest, Paul Mauro, called the shooter’s political background “murky” and claimed that the shooter’s wife “was apparently an intern for Tim Walz.” Hurt also brought up the “No Kings” flyers and the hit list, though he failed to specify the targets of the hit list. [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 6/15/25]
- Far-right conspiracy theorist Ann Vandersteel posted: “The man who just assassinated Democrat Rep. Melissa Hortman is also HIMSELF A DEMOCRAT.” She added, “So to be clear: Vance Luther Boelter was absolutely NOT MAGA. We all need to make that clear before the lying ALPHABET MEDIA starts their anti-Trump spin.” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25; Media Matters, 7/26/24]
- QAnon conspiracy theorist Jacob Creech, who goes by “Clandestine” on social media, claimed that the shooter is a “crazy Democrat.” He added, “This is the product of the endless violent rhetoric from the Dems/MSM. The Dems/MSM are terrorists.” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25; CBC, 4/10/22]
- QAnon conspiracy theorist Pepe Deluxe posted: “The victims voted against insurance for illegals. Probably a coincidence.” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25; Media Matters, 10/29/24]
- Far-right streamer Woke Societies posted: “Remember that study that came out that the Left is adopting assassination culture more and more per year? Welp, it’s playing out right before our eyes.” [Twitter/X, 6/14/25]
Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.
