Political violence

Minnesotans were left in shock this past Saturday morning as they received news of the assassination of Rep. Melissa Hortman, the DFL’s top leader in the Minnesota House, and the attempted assassination of Sen. John Hoffman, along with their spouses. But could any of us really say we were surprised?
We live in a deeply divided nation, one increasingly dominated by misinformation, that elevates vitriol over reasoned discussion, cruelty over kindness, lies over facts.
Even the assassination of one lawmaker and the attempted assassination of another couldn’t bridge the gap. While we saw some hope in the joint statement in opposition to violence issued by Minnesota’s entire congressional delegation in the wake of the shooting, the tragic events weren’t enough to prompt President Trump to pick up the phone and call Gov. Walz to offer support. Instead, Trump, with a gasoline can always at the ready, called Gov. Walz “grossly incompetent” in the wake of the shooting.
Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee picked up on Trump’s theme, tweeting: “Nightmare on Waltz (sic) Street,” again trying to link the shooting to Gov. Walz. “This is what happens. When Marxists don’t get their way,” he concluded, in a reference that made little sense but certainly added fuel to the fire.
The shootings sent the broader conservative spin machine into a frenzy of misdirection and misinformation, as they tried desperately to blame the mayhem on Walz, rather than on the actual suspect, Vance Boelter, who his best friend and roommate described as a strong Trump supporter with a long history of support for conservative causes. The documents found in his vehicle, which included a long list of targets made up of Democratic elected officials and abortion providers, bolster that reality.
But facts no longer matter in America. Laura Loomer, a conspiracy monger and highly influential advisor to President Trump, blamed the shooting on “Walz’s goons” and called the Democratic Party a “terrorist organization.” Elon Musk, posting on X, said “the far left is murderously violent,” in the wake of the shooting. Prominent right-wing social media influencers suggested it was a political hit ordered by Walz, a sentiment echoed across the conservative disinformation machine.
The ”evidence” for these ludicrous allegations is the fact that Boelter was one of 60 individuals to serve on a non-partisan state workforce development board. He was originally appointed by Gov. Dayton and reappointed by Walz in 2019, but there is no indication that either governor even knew who Boelter was. Governors appoint hundreds of people to all kinds of advisory boards that recommend policies for the Legislature, but governors rarely interact with individual members.
Others on the right tried to suggest that Melissa Hortman’s vote to end access to health care benefits for Minnesota residents who are undocumented in the special legislative session earlier this month prompted the shooting, which is ridiculous. Hortman was the lone DFL vote for that measure not because she supported it, but because she had promised GOP leaders during the course of negotiations that she would make the hard vote in order to reach a budget deal, which passed by her single vote in the House and was later signed by Gov. Walz. Hortman showed a willingness to do the sometimes-unpleasant work required to achieve bipartisan governance, and she proved that her word could be trusted. In other words, she was the exact kind of person we need more of in politics.
Sadly, governance is but an afterthought in our politics today, which is focused on destruction of the other side in order to maintain power. When close advisors to the President refer to Democrats as “terrorists” and “murderously violent” in response to a conservative’s decision to kill Democratic lawmakers, we know we have careened into very dangerous territory, utterly divorced from reality.
And we have only ourselves to blame. We are the voters, and we could change our politics through the ballot box. When we elect leaders who fuel division and surround themselves with those who practice politics with a flame thrower, we are the ones undermining our democracy.
Politicians who operate this way aren’t seeking power to bring positive change to our country. They want power to enrich themselves and seek vengeance on those they see as their enemies. And they use hateful language designed to dehumanize and turn Americans against each other— because that’s how they gain and maintain power.
We can only hope that in the aftermath of this shooting, more Minnesotans and more Americans will realize that there are real world consequences to the ugly division so many continue to try to fuel in this country. We can all collectively make the decision to put out the fire.