
Ex-Vikings player blames ‘weak, emasculated' Tim Walz for Minnesota lawmaker killings
Former Minnesota Vikings and University of Minnesota football player Jack Brewer spoke out about the early-morning shootings that left one state lawmaker and her husband dead and a second lawmaker and his wife injured.
Brewer, who played four seasons with the Golden Gophers before starting his NFL career with the Vikings in 2002, criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for allowing the state to become 'the capital of chaos.'
'We need to start calling this what it is. These people have lost their minds. I am heartbroken to see one of the most amazing states in America completely turned around under Gov. Tim Walz. Minnesota is confused,' Brewer told Fox News Digital.
'I played for the Vikings. I played for the Gophers. I lived in Minnesota for years. It was not like this. People were respectful. People could disagree and still have conversations. I still have a lot of family there, and it hurts to see what they're living through.
4 Jack Brewer a former Minnesota Vikings player, criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for the shootings of state lawmakers.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
4 'I am heartbroken to see one of the most amazing states in America completely turned around under Gov. Tim Walz. Minnesota is confused,' Brewer said.
Minnesota Department of Public Safety
'Minnesota has become the capital of chaos in America. That's not right. It's not a reflection of the true people of Minnesota. There are a lot of good people there. But the liberal hub around Minneapolis and St. Paul has taken over, and it's dangerous. Tim Walz is the leader of that. His attorney general, Keith Ellison, is right there with him.'
Vance Luther Boelter, 57, is wanted in the shootings, two sources familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Boelter reportedly earned his Ph.D. in leadership for the advancement of learning and service from Cardinal Stritch University and was appointed to the state's Workforce Development Board by two Minnesota governors, according to Fox 9.
4 Vance Luther Boelter, 57, is wanted in the shootings, and was reappointed by Walz in 2019 as a private sector representative to the state's Workforce Development Board.
HANDOUT/MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
He was reportedly initially appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton in 2016 before being reappointed by Gov. Tim Walz in 2019 as a private sector representative to the council. Boelter's term expired in 2023.
Walz's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Boelter allegedly posed as a police officer when he shot Sen. John Hoffman and his wife in their Champlin home early Saturday, leaving them seriously injured before moving on to former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman's house, where he allegedly killed her and her husband.
4 Brewer believes the incident is a result of Democrats and Walz's leadership and called for a 'return to masculinity.'
Photo Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National
This morning, Walz told reporters the attack was clearly a 'politically motivated assassination,' but he did not reveal that the suspect was his own appointee.
Brewer believes the incident is a result of Democrats and Walz's leadership and called for a 'return to masculinity.'
'On this Father's Day, I wish Minnesota would focus on restoring fatherhood — protecting women, protecting families. Tim Walz is the example of a weak, emasculated leader. That is not what God made fathers to be. It's pathetic,' Brewer said.
'It's terrible. The root cause of all of this is evil. When you're willing to attack, ridicule, riot and protest anyone who believes something different — even in your own party — you've gone too far. The Democrats have gone so far left that if you're not a raging liberal, you're under attack. They are forcing everyone in the party to conform.
'Whenever you give Satan power, he shows his face. That's what we're witnessing now.'
Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan and Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNN
30 minutes ago
- CNN
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz confirms Vance Boelter has been apprehended
Vance Boelter, the suspect in the assassination and attempted assassination of two Minnesota lawmakers, has been captured, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz confirmed in a news conference late Sunday.


Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Minnesota Shooting Suspect Arrested After Manhunt (Live Updates)
Authorities arrested a man suspected of killing a Minnesota state lawmaker and shooting another, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced late on Sunday, a day after he described the incident as a 'politically motivated assassination.' The vehicle belonging to the suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, was found in Sibley County, Minnesota, about 60 miles from where the attacks took place and east of Boelter's home in Green Isle, local police said. 'We believe he's somewhere in the vicinity,' Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., told NBC News on Sunday, adding Boelter 'may be' in Minnesota and that law enforcement issued alerts in South Dakota. The FBI announced a $50,000 reward 'for info leading to the arrest and conviction of Vance L. Boelter,' and released a photo (below) that reportedly shows the suspect at the door of one of the shooting victims, apparently wearing a head-covering mask and police costume, early Saturday morning. A police alert warned that the 'suspect is armed and dangerous and may be impersonating law enforcement,' according to the Minnesota Star Tribune, and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino posted on X the bureau 'is working in collaboration with our local and state partners.' Boelter's wife, Jenny, and three relatives were arrested late Saturday at a traffic stop, Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton told the Star Tribune, though it's not immediately clear why they were detained. 'My good friend and colleague, Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed this morning in what appears to be a politically motivated assassination,' Walz said at a press conference Saturday. On Saturday, Walz said Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were 'out of surgery,' and their nephew Mat Ollig told the Star Tribune on Sunday they were 'both awake now and recovering,' noting a bullet that struck Hoffman 'barely missed his heart.' President Donald Trump issued a statement Saturday on the shootings, saying he had 'been briefed on the terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota,' and 'such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America.' Boelter sent a text message to his roommates saying he 'may be dead shortly,' one roommate told the Minnesota Star Tribune. Boelter told them he 'made some choices, and you guys don't know anything about this, but I'm going to be gone for a while.' David Carlson, Boelter's roommate, told the Star Tribune that Boelter was dealing with financial hardships after quitting his job to go to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for business. At a press briefing at around 4 p.m. EDT on Saturday, state police shared images of the suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, characterizing him as a 6-foot-1 inch white male, about 220 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, and said he was wearing a light-colored cowboy hat and dark shirt when last seen. Authorities asked the public to call 911 if they see Boelter, but not to approach him, as he's considered armed and dangerous. Local police told the Minnesota Star Tribune that, early Saturday morning, they noticed an SUV with emergency lights and someone who initially appeared to be a police officer at Hortman's door, but the person, allegedly Boelter, 'immediately fired at officers' after being confronted, and fled back into the house. Mark Bruley, the chief of police in Brooklyn Park, said police searched the vehicle and uncovered a list that identified 'many lawmakers and other officials,' including Hortman and Hoffman, according to MinnPost. CNN reports Boelter's apparent list included 70 names, including 'abortion providers,' and 'pro-abortion rights advocates.' Police also said they found sheets of paper with 'No Kings' written on them, a likely reference to the widespread protests planned for Saturday. CNN also reported Boelter, according to a law enforcement official, works for a Minnesota-based security company named Praetorian Guard Security. He is listed on the company website's leadership page as director of security patrols, and described as having 'on the ground experiences combined with training by both private security firms and by people in the U.S. Military.' Hortman, 55, was a top Democratic leader in the Minnesota Legislature. First elected in 2004, she served as House speaker from 2019 to 2025 and spearheaded key legislation, including universal free school lunches statewide and a red flag gun law—which allows police or family members to petition the courts to have a gun removed from those considered a threat to themselves or others—according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. Hoffman, 60 and also a top Democrat in the legislature, is a member of the state Senate first elected in 2012. He served as chair of the Human Services Committee, according to CBS News, and has also served on committees for energy, environment and health services.


Axios
2 hours ago
- Axios
Authorities arrest suspect in killing of top Minnesota lawmaker
Police arrested a man Sunday whom they believe assassinated the top Democrat in the state House in shootings that targeted two state lawmakers at their homes in the Twin Cities suburbs, a state official confirmed to Axios. The big picture: The killing of state House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounding of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, setting off a manhunt that spanned nearly two full days. The violence shook Minnesota, prompting Gov. Tim Walz to warn thousands against attending anti-Trump rallies statewide while the suspect remained at large. The manhunt triggered orders for thousands of residents in Brooklyn Park, where the Hortmans lived, to shelter in place for much of Saturday. Details: The sheriff of a Twin Cities metro county confirmed the news in a Facebook post that included a picture that appeared to be Vance in custody. "Thanks to the dedication of multiple agencies working together along with support from the community, justice is one step closer," Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher wrote, What we're watching: Gov. Tim Walz was set to hold a "public safety update at 10:30pm local time, his office announced. Catch up quick: Authorities had asked for the public's help in locating 57-year-old suspect Vance Luther Boelter. The FBI had offered a $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. More than 100 law enforcement officials spent Sunday afternoon and evening searching rural Sibley County — not far from Boelter's Green Isle home. That's where officers found a vehicle associated with Boelter as well as a hat he was seen wearing, said Drew Evans, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent. What they're saying: State House Speaker Lisa Demuth in an emailed statement said she is "grateful that this nightmare has come to an end" with the suspect "captured alive so he can be charged" and prosecuted "for the horror" he is accused of having wrought on Minnesota. "Thank you to the brave men and women of local, state, and federal law enforcement who have worked around the clock to ensure this evil man faces justice," Demuth added. The intrigue: Multiple media reports said that Mille Lacs County sheriff's deputies stopped a vehicle carrying Boelter's wife, Jenny, and other relatives in Onamia, about 115 miles north of Green Isle. Evans said they cooperated and provided the information law enforcement needed. They were not immediately in custody. What happened: Police responded around 2am Saturday to a call saying Hoffman and his wife had been shot at their home in nearby Champlin by someone impersonating a law enforcement officer, Evans had told reporters. Officers decided to proactively check on Hortman at her home roughly five miles away about 3:35am, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said. They encountered the suspect, and exchanged gunfire with him before he escaped. Zoom in: Officers discovered a manifesto inside the suspect's vehicle — which resembled a police SUV — naming "many lawmakers and other officials," Bruley said. An official who saw the document told Axios it includes prominent individuals who support abortion rights in Minnesota. Plus: The vehicle included multiple papers inscribed with the tagline for the anti-Trump rallies, "No Kings," which led Walz to echo state public safety officials' calls for attendees to stay home "out of an abundance of caution." Though organizers cancelled some local events, the main rally in St. Paul proceeded with large crowds in attendance.