What we know in the aftermath of the Minnesota shootings
The suspect, Vance Boelter, 57, was apprehended late Sunday. He faces murder charges in state courts. On Monday, federal prosecutors also charged him with murder.
Boelter is accused of killing Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband, Mark, at their home in a Minneapolis suburb in the early hours of Saturday. Prosecutors allege that, shortly before, he had shot state Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife, Yvette, at their home. The Hoffmans have undergone surgery and are expected to survive.
Here's what we know so far.
A major development Monday came with the unveiling of the federal charges against Boelter — and the details from prosecutors that accompanied those charges.
Boelter has been charged with murder and with stalking.
Federal prosecutors allege that the suspect had visited a total of four lawmakers' homes. In addition to the two where shootings took place, he is said to have visited an address where his target was not home, and to have left another address without opening fire, perhaps because of a police presence there.
Prosecutors did not identify the lawmaker, but state Sen. Ann Rest (D) identified herself, saying that she had been told that Boelter had been close to her home during the hours in question. She thanked local police officers for having 'saved my life.'
Authorities said other documentation appeared to show that Boelter had been planning the attacks for months.
Boelter apparently had a list of targets, as well as copious other plans.
Both of Minnesota's senators, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D) and Tina Smith (D), have confirmed that they were on the list. An unnamed law enforcement officer told the New York Times that Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) were also among the targets.
Boelter's lists also extended beyond Minnesota. Abigail Leavins, a reporter for a website that covers politics in Wisconsin, said that Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) were also confirmed to be among the potential targets. Lawrence Andrea of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) was on the list, too.
Multiple media outlets have reported that all the politicians allegedly targeted are Democrats. The list also appears to have included some addresses associated with reproductive rights, including abortion providers and Planned Parenthood clinics.
Federal authorities have declined to identify a clear and specific political motive so far.
But media interviews of Boelter's friends and acquaintances have formed a picture of a socially conservative, vigorously anti-abortion figure who, at least one friend said, supported President Trump in last year's election.
In one clip available online, he delivers a sermon to an audience in Africa complaining that many American churches 'are so messed up they don't know abortion is wrong.'
His roommate told reporters that Boelter was 'a Trump supporter' who 'would be offended if people called him a Democrat.'
The tragedy of the killings was soon followed by a political firestorm.
The instigator was Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who on Sunday tweeted a photo of the suspect with the caption, 'This is what happens when Marxists don't get their way.'
A short time after, Lee sent another post with two photos of the suspect, including one in which he was wearing a mask, with the caption 'Nightmare on Waltz Street.'
This was widely interpreted as a reference to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Vice President Harris's running mate in the 2024 election. Influencers within the online right have been floating a conspiracy theory about Walz and the shooter, based on the fact that Walz had reappointed Boelter to a state economic panel in 2019.
Democrats and liberals reacted furiously.
Klobuchar told MSNBC on Monday that she 'condemned' what Lee had done, and said she would 'speak to him about this' when they next met.
'What I'm going to tell him is: This isn't funny,' Klobuchar added.
Smith, at the Capitol, told reporters she was also seeking out Lee for a conversation. The Hill's Al Weaver posted a photo of the two in conversation soon afterward.
Weaver also reported that Smith told reporters she wanted Lee to hear from her directly 'about how painful that was and how brutal that was to see that on what was just a horrible, brutal weekend.'
Caroline Gleich, who was the Democratic nominee in last year's Senate race in Utah — ultimately losing to Lee's colleague Sen. John Curtis (R) — told The Hill in a video interview that Lee's tweets were 'absolutely despicable.'
Lee has not deleted the tweets. His office did not respond to an invitation to comment.
The hours since the shooting have seen significant misinformation.
The Minnesota Star Tribune was among the news outlets trying to push the tide of confusion back.
It noted that many members on the state board on which Boelter once served 'were not politically connected [nor] would have meaningful access to the governor.' Board members are purportedly appointed because of their insights into particular industries or areas of knowledge, not because they reflect a governor's ideology. A source in Walz's office also told the Star Tribune the governor did not know Boelter.
The news organization also noted that, contrary to online speculation, Boelter's wife had never served as an intern for Walz. There appears to have been some confusion over another person with the same name, married to someone else.
But at times, careful reporting seems little match for the tsunami of often-erroneous social media speculation.
Reams have been written about the growing polarization of American politics over the past couple of decades. But there is a lot of evidence that the nation's political gulf just keeps getting wider and more bitter.
The shootings in Minnesota are sure to produce more questions about where this will all lead.
Trump himself was almost killed last July during a rally in Pennsylvania. A California man in April pleaded guilty to trying to kill conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Several men were convicted in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in 2020.
With no end in sight to the enmity in the political system, attention is turning to increasing security for lawmakers and others in public life.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) — along with the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) — wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday asking to increase the amount of money available to lawmakers to bolster security.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
a few seconds ago
- Associated Press
US appeals court blocks New Mexico's 7-day waiting period on gun purchases
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A panel of federal appellate judges rules Tuesday that New Mexico's seven-day waiting period on gun purchases likely infringes on citizens' Second Amendment rights, putting the law on hold pending a legal challenge. The ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sends the case back to a lower court. New Mexico's waiting period went into effect in May 2024. It does hold an exception for concealed permit holders. Two New Mexico residents had sued, citing concerns about delayed access to weapons for victims of domestic violence and others. Democratic state lawmakers had enacted the restrictions in hopes of ensuring more time for the completion of federal background checks on gun buyers.
CNN
a few seconds ago
- CNN
National Guard troops from GOP-led states begin arriving in DC as part of Trump's crime crackdown
West Virginia National Guard troops have begun to arrive in Washington, DC, to assist with President Donald Trump's crime crackdown in the nation's capital, a defense official told CNN on Tuesday. The troops could begin assisting the DC National Guard operationally as soon as Wednesday after they have completed their in-processing, the defense official added. Their arrival comes after the Republican governors of six states — West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee — announced they will send guard members to Washington, DC. The deployment of other states' troops marks an escalation of Trump's efforts to amass forces in the capital. The president previously announced that he was deploying DC National Guard troops to the city, surging federal agents into the streets, and federalizing DC's police force. The president has repeatedly complained about rising crime in DC, but overall crime numbers are lower this year than in 2024. The defense official said Tuesday that while there are roughly 2,400 personnel in the DC National Guard, assistance from other states was needed because of how many troops are either undergoing training elsewhere or are on leave. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said Monday he approved about 135 National Guard troops to DC, while Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced he would deploy approximately 200 members. Tennessee will send roughly 160 guard members to the city this week following a request from the Trump administration, Gov. Bill Lee's press secretary said in a Tuesday statement to CNN. Over the weekend, West Virginia's governor said his state was sending 300 to 400 National Guard troops to the nation's capital. South Carolina authorized the deployment of 200 troops, and Ohio said it will send 150. When asked on Monday how she feels about the additional states' troops, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said, 'We don't have any authority over the DC Guard or any other guards.' The president has power over the DC National Guard. 'But I think it kind of makes the point that this is not about DC crime,' the Democratic mayor said. The defense official said the National Guard is operating at 10 Metrorail stations in the city. They are not carrying firearms and have not been requested to do so, the official added. As of Monday morning, 896 DC soldiers and airmen were mobilized on the mission. Asked whether they will deploy to high-crime areas of the capital, the defense official said, 'That's not the request' and that it would be more the focus of law enforcement, not the National Guard. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the federal law enforcement operation is 'working,' highlighting 52 arrests Tuesday night, a similar figure to the number of average adult arrests per day in Washington, DC, in 2024. Leavitt added that 'a significant number of the arrests have been in high-crime areas of DC.' As Trump's crackdown on crime escalates, at least one Republican governor has refused to send National Guard troops from his state to the nation's capital. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott 'declined to consider a request to deploy the Vermont National Guard for law enforcement activities in Washington, D.C.,' his office said in a statement. 'While Public safety is a legitimate concern in cities across the country, in the absence of an immediate disaster and unless local and regional first responders are unable to handle such an emergency, the Governor is opposed to utilizing the National Guard for this purpose and does not view the enforcement of domestic law as proper use of the National Guard,' the statement said. Meanwhile, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas, criticized the GOP governors who sent troops, saying in a statement, 'I implore my colleagues from Ohio, West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi and every other state to reject the temptation to use their soldiers to reinforce a dangerous, politically motivated agenda.' CNN's Shania Shelton and Jenna Monnin contributed to this report.
CNN
a few seconds ago
- CNN
Analysis: Gavin Newsom is owning the MAGAs. How far can he take it?
For months, the Democratic Party has been a massive vacuum. Its base has been crying out for someone to go toe-to-toe with MAGA and President Donald Trump and to rescue it from its post-2024 funk. Democratic motivation to participate in the midterms has been off the charts. But leaders who are able to seize on that have been all but absent. Until Gavin Newsom. Through happenstance and his oft-demonstrated political guile, the California governor is quickly raising his national profile. And you could forgive Democrats for seeing him as the potential future national leader they've been begging for. But whether that's good for the Democratic Party is another matter entirely. Newsom presents a riddle for Democrats. He often shows a kind of real and rare political talent – like he's doing right now – that may make his party wonder what could be if he put it all together. But he's also basically a caricature of the kind of candidate Republicans would want to run against. He's a California governor and former San Francisco mayor who practically oozes the word 'liberal.' The last two months-plus have put him on the map. First came a showdown with Trump over the president's decision to send the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles amid protests over the administration's deportations. Given it's the first time in 60 years that a president has done so without gubernatorial approval, Newsom is now in the position of fighting a major Trump power grab – and an apparently unpopular one – in a high-profile court case. But perhaps Newsom's biggest opportunity has come in recent weeks. He's become the face of Democrats' efforts to fight back against another MAGA/Trump power grab: their extraordinary effort to re-gerrymander Texas in the GOP's favor ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Newsom has promised that California will do the same for Democrats in retaliation, and this week he cued up a potential special election to make it happen. As with the fight over Trump's militarization of US soil, Newsom appears to benefit from where he stands. California is simply Democrats' best opportunity to fight back and offset the GOP's power play in Texas, because it's where Democrats could feasibly draw more districts in their favor. But Newsom has also seized on that opening with aplomb, as CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere documented this week. Whether Newsom's redistricting gambit works is a major, unanswered question given California voters need to sign off. But if it does, he'll have been the rare Democrat to successfully get down and dirty in fighting back against Trump – something the base increasingly wants. Newsom has also raised his profile in recent days with an effort to mock Trump's style on social media. Liberals have eaten it up, particularly when Republicans and Fox News hosts make clear the joke has gone over their head. Trump and his allies have gotten great mileage out of 'owning the libs'; Newsom, more so than perhaps any Democratic politician in recent memory, is showing you can 'own the MAGAs,' too. (Newsom has also talked with right-wing influencers on his podcast, including Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. Those moves have rubbed some on the left the wrong way, but they also suggest a politician who is willing and capable of engaging directly with the other side.) All of which should be encouraging for Democrats. At least one of their own is showing some wherewithal in charting a path forward, which has been sorely lacking with others. But that's different from saying the Democratic Party needs Newsom as its leader. On that, the jury very much remains out. And Democrats might be wary of Newsom filling too much of their vacuum. The governor remains unknown to many Americans. But among those who have offered views of him, he's been consistently underwater – and usually substantially so. A CNN poll last year, when Democrats were considering alternatives to then-President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, showed Americans viewed Newsom unfavorably 31%-21%. A Fox News poll with fewer undecideds showed his split at a negative 44%-35% among registered voters. Perhaps tellingly, both polls showed Newsom underwater with the vast majority of demographics, from young to old, from less-educated to more-educated, from rural to urban. Even young people and voters of color – two traditional Democratic constituencies – were lukewarm on him, at best. He didn't seem to have a real base. Fast forward to today, and things don't appear to be much better for Newsom – or at least, they didn't before the redistricting fight really kicked off. A Gallup poll conducted in mid July showed Americans viewed Newsom unfavorably by 11 points, 41%-30%. Those numbers are hardly unheard of; Newsom had plenty of company in being double-digits underwater, including Trump, Biden and several key Trump administration figures like Vice President JD Vance. But other Democratic-aligned politicians were better off. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont was plus-11, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was only 4 points underwater. Unlike those two, Newsom engendered a lot more opposition among Republicans (minus-58) than he did support among Democrats (plus-42). And he was about as unpopular among independents (minus-15) as Biden (minus-18). All of these numbers could shift if and when Newsom truly breaks through on the national stage. But you could see a situation in which Newsom's stock in the 2028 presidential primary continues to rise in the absence of other Democrats being able to take the fight to Trump like he has. And that could leave the party with some difficult choices about its path forward.
