Klobuchar condemns Mike Lee's posts about Minnesota suspect: ‘This isn't funny'
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Monday condemned social media posts from her colleague Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) spreading unfounded claims about the man suspected of killing a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker and her husband on Saturday morning.
'I have condemned what Mike Lee did here at home, and I will speak to him about this when I return,' Klobuchar said on MSNBC. 'And what I'm going to tell him is, this isn't funny.'
'This was an incredible woman, her husband, her two kids, yesterday on Father's Day, there was no Father's Day for them,' she said. 'They lost both their parents.'
Lee posted, 'This is what happens when Marxists don't get their way,' Sunday on X, along with a photo of the suspected shooter released by the FBI, showing a masked man at the door of a lawmaker's house.
Lee followed up with another post of the masked man's photo alongside a headshot of Vance Boelter, the 57-year-old suspect, with the text 'Nightmare on Waltz Street,' an apparent reference to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).
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The suspect, Boelter, was charged Monday with murder for allegedly killing Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband. He is also accused of shooting and injuring another Minnesota state lawmaker and his wife.
He was arrested Sunday after a massive manhunt tracked Boelter down in Green Isle, not far from his home.
A list of about 70 names was found in writings recovered from a fake police vehicle that was left at the crime scene, The Associated Press reported. It included prominent state and federal lawmakers and community leaders, along with abortion-rights advocates and information about health care facilities, officials told the AP.
Klobuchar was close friends with Hortman, the House speaker who was killed, and said she dined with her Friday night.
Lee's post quickly drew an online backlash from Democrats.
'It's Father's Day, and you're spending your time tweeting lies about a tragedy to run cover for a right-wing domestic terrorist,' the official party account posted online. 'Pathetic.'
The account of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party also replied, 'Using Speaker Hortman's murder to spread right-wing lies is evil and vile. Your dishonor will be your legacy.'
Lee only doubled down on the unfounded conspiracies suggesting Boelter was motivated by leftist ideology, a theory also shared by Elon Musk, though evidence has so far pointed to the contrary.
'Marxism is a deadly mental illness,' Lee wrote, pointing to reports that a 'No Kings' protest flyer was found in Boelter's vehicle.
Boelter, who worked for a security company, had been appointed twice to a state economic panel by two Democratic governors, including Walz. But a man who said he was Boelter's former roommate told local news that he was a supporter of President Trump.
Lee's personal X account frequently engages with users on X promoting right-wing conspiracies.
On his official account, Lee struck a starkly different tone.
'These hateful attacks have no place in Utah, Minnesota, or anywhere in America,' he posted Sunday on his official account. 'Please join me in condemning this senseless violence, and praying for the victims and their families.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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