We had two lawmakers and their wives shot today, and others threatened. From what I've seen locally this morning the response has been directed at protecting lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and on finding the assailant. So far, no motive and no information has been found and released.
I'm sure that some will jump to conclusions, but I'm imploring people not to do so.
This is a horrible tragedy, and I look for the perpetrator to be found and arrested as soon as possible.
I hope that the timing of this doesn't diminish the police available to investigate this horrible crime because of the significant amount of resources required for the big protest. Hopefully this won't rile the protesters up any more that the already are.
Three relevant pieces of information are being reported.
It’s being reported that the alleged shooter had “No Kings” literature in his car, along with a manifesto. It's also being reported that the alleged shooter worked for a security company which gave him access to a police type uniform as well as a police like car. Finally it's being reported that the alleged shooter has pro Gaza/Hamas ties.
It’s being reported that the two reps shot had voted against funding health care for illegal aliens. Further reporting is drawing a link between this and the shootings.
The shooter was an appointee of Gov Walz, as well as of governor Dayton (both DFL) and the shooter's wife was an intern for Walz.
Despite being asked not to show up at the protest, people have chosen to do so anyway I sincerely hope this doesn’t impede the search
They caught the guy last night, but so far have refused to release the "manifesto". Given the high profile of this case, one wonders why not.
There is speculation that he was unhappy because his ONG lost USAID funding, or because the MN budget didn't have funding for illegal alien healthcare.
Regardless of what the MSM tells you, MN does not have a provision for party preference when registering to vote.
"You aren't going to like this post, but it needs to be said about Vance Bolter. At first, I assumed Vance Boelter was just another grifter in the NGO/activist space. He built a fake resume, floated around volunteer gigs, and set up shell organizations for clout. His "Red Lion Group" has no real paper trail. His side business in "security services" looks like a cash grab. But the more I dug, the more different it looks. Boelter was a 7/11 manager, but constantly promoted himself as a corporate executive. He claims the title "Dr." based on a Ed.D. in Leadership. He chased every opportunity to get in front of an audience: volunteering for Governor Walz's "Workforce Development" initiatives, speaking at conferences, anything to be seen as a leader. And in videos of him in African churches, you see him light up. He's performing. He's preaching vague, positive platitudes to foreign audiences. He wanted to be somebody. He wanted to be followed. There's good reason to believe that
is right... he was remodeling that building below into a church. Not to serve Jesus, but as a stage for an audience that would never come. I think he is a man addicted to attention and status, who tried to get it through a lot of means. And when that attention dried up (possibly whoever cut him off his funding in Congo), he snapped. I believe Vance Boelter committed violence as a last, desperate attempt to be glorified: under the delusion that killing abortion rights activists would make him a martyr or hero. This is not Christianity. I watched his sermons. They were designed to provoke emotional applause, not spiritual conviction. His actions contradict the standard Jesus gave us to recognize false prophets: "By their fruits you will know them." – Matthew 7:15–20 Boelter bore no good fruit. Just narcissism, manipulation, and ultimately violence. He wasn't an evangelical or MAGA. He was a man who couldn't stand being ordinary."I saw this elsewhere, and it seemed like a reasonable summary with what we know so far.
He's been charged with 2 counts of 2nd degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. It's likely that this is just enough to get the process started and that additional charges will be added later. Apparently they need a grand jury indictment for 1st degree murder, which I expect will be coming soon as well. My guess is that they'll have no trouble proving premeditation.
Sounds like he's been charged by the feds as well.
https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1934711575035641865?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw
This clip from the press conference by the federal prosecutor which makes it sound like LE was there and didn't act while he murdered two people isn't a good look.
23 comments:
It's a tragedy, to be sure. More details are developing...
"He is an outspoken evangelical Christian who traveled to Africa to tell his faith story and, in at least one sermon, pointedly questioned American morals on sexual orientation...
Names on a list found in his car, which CNN obtained, are largely Democrats or figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement. The list included prominent lawmakers like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Tina Smith as well as Planned Parenthood leaders...."
Yes...at this point most evidence...such as it might be...suggests the shooter is another lefty. This is almost impossible to believe given "progressive", like islam, is an RoP. "Progressives" are all about pacifism. Never mind all that rioting, looting and pelting squad care with cinder blocks from highway overpasses.
It is, and they are. It's so nice of you to cherry pick two details to attempt to make this fit your narrative.
CNN didn't "obtain" the list, it's been released all over the place. Don't act like CNN actually did some journalism that scooped everyone else.
I'll acknowledge that IF he did "tell his faith story", when traveling to Africa that does decrease the chance that he was a progressive.
FYI, he was appointed to a state board by two DFL governors and his wife interned for Walz.
But, by all means, jump to a conclusion.
At this point, I'd say that the "evidence" that's been released isn't that conclusive in regards to his politics. There are hints that point both ways. The alleged text to his alleged roommate is probably the least convincing thing so far.
The whole things makes no sense, as these things rarely do, and the jumping to conclusions is frustrating.
I understand the jumping. The left does it because their narrative that all high profile shooters are "right wing extremists" must be pushed the minute the trigger is pulled. The right does it because they know that the left is going to politicize it and has to push back against the narrative. This is especially True as we see a significant increase in left wing perpetrators of incidents like this which the left will try to hide by pushing the narrative.
The Truth is that we just don't know much, other that the fact that this guy was a whack job, and it's disappointing that he didn't unalive himself before he got caught.
Hence my qualifiers "at this point" and "such as it might be". I await more info.
On this one, I'm trying to stick to only the actual news being reported. As of the most recent information (I'm sticking mostly to local sources as the national news hasn't been impressive), the "evidence" is (at best inconclusive) with a lean toward him being on the left side of things. It obviously depends on how much credibility the "roommate" is given, and the whether or not his preparation involved some "false flag" ingredients. It also helps to remember that a lot of the GOP up here would probably vote DFL in many other states.
Again, I'm trying very hard to be evenhanded on this one and only relay what I'm hearing from reputable sources.
Craig, in the original post said...
"Three relevant pieces of information are being reported..."
And asked us not to jump to conclusions. You then proceeded to cite several snippets that made it sound as if the assailant was a Democrat.
In response, I cited three bits of info pointing out that he held to traditional, conservative evangelical beliefs. I jumped to no conclusions and made no accusations, just cited some of the known facts as quoted from a news source.
How is what I did any different than what you did?
The facts are clear that, as it turns out, he is someone from the conservative evangelical world, not someone holding liberal views, based on what we know so far.
That Walz appointed a conservative Christian to a board doesn't make the alleged killer a liberal.
Also, I'm curious... did you see the reports of him being an anti-LGBTQ, prolife evangelical Christian along with the other information you did cite and deliberately omit the conservative signs or had you not seen that when you made your original post?
From AP...
"Friends and former colleagues interviewed by AP described Boelter as
a devout Christian
who attended an evangelical church and
went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump.
Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota where voters don’t list party affiliation."
By way of additional information. Also, news groups have noted that LEO have not said anything about a manifesto. So that's probably why it hasn't been released, but maybe one will emerge.
Again, no accusations, no jumping to conclusions. Just available information and data from reputable news sources.
Dan, I was and am reporting the best known facts at the time I reported them. Knowing a bit about both Walz and Dayton, the likelihood that they would appoint a "conservative evangelical" to a political post is slim. Given that there are plenty of "conservatives" up here that could be appointed if necessary.
Unfortunately the facts are not clear, and now that it's being reported that the "manifesto" will either not be released or does not exist, his motivations are even less clear.
As I've never said he was "a liberal", I'm not sure what your point is. What is being pointed out, by multiple sources, is that the narrative is not a clear as y'all want it to be.
I know y'all want to push the "only conservative white men do this" narrative, even if it's simply not True, but maybe wait instead of jumping to conclusions.
When I posted the original post, I posted what information was available at the time. Since then I've updated it as information has been made available. As I've not seen hard evidence of your claims, nor do I assume that those on the left cannot be "anti LGBTQ/pro life", I've not posted on it.
Your obsessive desire to jump to conclusions is impressive though.
As you'd likely describe yourself as a "devout christian", I'm not sure what the point of that is. Clearly his actions bely his "devoutness", as "devout christians" don't murder people in cold blood.
Wow, that he registered as a Republican over 20 years ago is definitely a smoking gun. Given the number of MSM outlets who've reported that he was registered Republican in MN, I'm not impressed.
The "manifesto" was reported over the weekend, from LE sources.
Again, as noted, it was a horrible tragedy and he should be charged and punished as quickly as possible.
If he ends up being someone that can be labeled a "conservative" those of us on the right will still call for his punishment if he's found guilty. You're not seeing anything close to the pro Mangione response we saw from the anti Health insurance left, or the excuses made after MPLS burned in 2020. You won't see "right wing" folks threatening jurors during his trial. Just more of what you're seeing now, universal condemnation.
I admire the effort you're going to in order to make this fit your narrative, even though you really have no idea. It's too bad you didn't put this much effort into tracking down the motives of the DC antisemitic murderer, Mangione, of the Nashville Christian school shooter.
As usual, selective.
I understand the inclination to distance one's "tribe" as unconnected to those who perpetrate violence. But at some point, when distancing becomes so routine, one might want to clean the "tribe's" house of such people or admit the tribe is the problem.
I guess that I understand the inclination, I don't understand how it can be done while ignoring the multitude of instances from the ASPL of engaging in or calling for violence. It's like ignoring the reality will make it go away.
Again, I'm not jumping to ANY conclusions. I'm literally just citing and quoting some of the news stories on the topic to call into YOUR conclusions that he was probably liberal ("a lean towards being on the left side of things...")
As to "devout" Christians, history is littered with devout religious people committing atrocities.
Sure you're not, you just happen to only "cite" tidbits that you believe further your narrative.
OK, if you say so. I guess I'd say that engaging in actions contrary to the tenets of one's faith (thou shall not murder for starters) somehow equates to "devout" when it comes to Christians. Muslims, absolutely, killing unbelievers is how they demonstrate their devoutness (at least a few million of them), but Christians not so much.
Hey, you stick with your narrative if you like.
So, if the latest news is correct and Boelter is, just as it appears, that is a Trump- supporting " pro-life" conservative, will you admit as much? And that you're leaning to thinking he was a liberal was a mistake?
https://www.minnpost.com/public-safety/2025/06/what-is-known-about-vance-boelter-so-far/
From AP...
"Friends and former colleagues interviewed by AP described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump. Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota where voters don’t list party affiliation...
Friends told the AP that they knew Boelter was religious and conservative, but that he didn’t talk about politics often and didn’t seem extreme.
“He was right-leaning politically but never fanatical, from what I saw, just strong beliefs,” said Paul Schroeder, who has known Boelter for years...
"He never talked to me about abortion," Schroeder said. "It seemed to be just that he was a conservative Republican who naturally followed Trump."
https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-shootings-lawmakers-suspect-21b2165404bc66f77dd5e0e36efeb065
Now, a shallow and naive partisan approach to the initial news might be, "Oh, look, he had No Kings info in his car. He must be liberal!"
But a more considered and thoughtful approach might be like, "hm. He's attacked and killed some Democrats. And he has NO Kings literature... that could mean he was supportive of the protests, or, it could mean that he was looking for more progressive targets..."
It pays to be more deliberate and less guided by knee-jerk partisanship.
And noting... I'm not saying he is or isn't a conservative... but I would say the evidence is leaning that way and was as soon as we learned his targets were Democrats.
As I've said multiple times, I'll wait to see when actual evidence in provided.
Minnpost is exactly the kind of organization you'd label as "fake news" if it leaned conservative. Not exactly the kind of "real journalism" you usually demand. It's not your fault, it's you grasping at straws in ignorance of what the "real" journalistic outlets are up here.
That's why I haven't posted links to the conservative equivalent of Minnpost, even though the conservative equivalent has an excellent track record of accurate reporting.
Well, AP dredged up some hearsay. Awesome. I guess "right leaning" and "didn't talk politics" is the smoking gun needed to declare guilt.
Hardly the "right wing extremist" y'all need him to be.
Again the making shit up.
I merely noted the reality that he had "No Kings" posters in his car, no more no less. Now it does seem strange that a "right wing extremist" would have "No Kings" material, although there might be a reason for it. I'm content to wait for the investigation, instead of prowling partisan "news" sites looking for tidbits to prove your narrative.
No partisanship here, just trying to note the actual evidence being reported. Yeah, Democrats that compromised with Republicans to pass a budget with no taxpayer funded healthcare for illegal aliens. As most "right wing extremist" "Trump supporters" would have been pleased with that particular outcome, it seems strange that he would have targeted two lawmakers who achieved something that he'd have supported.
Again, instead of focusing on trying to prove your narrative, why not do something you don't do well and be patient.
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