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The Minnesota political assassinations show that the right is increasingly a violent threat
The suspect in the assassination of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband, and the shooting of another legislator and his wife, embodies all the threads running through the far right during the Trump era.Until he was named the suspect in the shootings last Saturday morning, Vance Boelter seemed like just another member of the MAGA universe. He was a registered Republican and a Trump supporter. He was also an evangelical minister who ran a security business. Related Jacksonville shooters racist manifesto also contained vile anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric In the hateful document, the gunman said he set out to slaughter both LGBTQ+ and Black people. Boelter is alleged to have shown up at the home of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband Mark Hortman early Saturday morning, impersonating a police officer. He shot and killed both. He used the same ruse at the home of Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, critically injuring both. Boelter was arrested yesterday. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today Both Hortman and Hoffman were supporters of the LGBTQ community. As speaker of the House in 2023, Hortman was instrumental in shepherding through trans rights protections, including a trans refugee bill that prohibits other states from interfering with gender-affirming health care in Minnesota.Following a shootout with police, Boelter escaped. Police found in his car a list of 70 people that Boelter allegedly marked for assassination. The list included politicians and abortion rights activists.According to a friend, Boelter was rabidly anti-abortion. But it turns out he was equally anti-LGBTQ+. Boelter traveled abroad to preach, and a video of a sermon he gave in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023 is a diatribe against the community. African nations have been a target for American evangelicals looking to spread homophobia. Theres people, especially in America, they dont know what sex they are. They dont know their sexual orientation. Theyre confused, he said. The enemy has gotten so far into their mind and their soul. (Not surprisingly, the anti-LGBTQ+ legal group Alliance Defending Freedom was among the groups liked by Boelter on social media.)Boelter displayed many of the other characteristics of the religious right. He was apparently a supporter of Israel, as are many evangelicals, who believe that the countrys existence is a prerequisite for the second coming of Christ. Boelter traveled to Gaza, where, according to in-depth reporting on his past by WIRED, he sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasnt the answer.Boelters security firm may have been as much role-playing as fact. Most of Boelters work history was in the food services industry, including managing a 7-11 store. According to NPR, his company, Praetorian Guard Security Services, has no record of any clients. The address in its incorporation papers belongs to a law firm specializing in divorces. The right immediately tried to brand Boelter as a progressive, churning out a ream of false information on the swamp that is X. The mainstream media immediately went for both sides, citing the attack on Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) by an anti-Trump gunman in 2017. Theres no minimizing that attack, in which the gunman intentionally singled out Republicans at a softball game. However, the fact is the biggest threat of political violence comes from the right. In a statement, Donald Trump said that such horrific violence will not be tolerated and that the suspect will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. However, Trump has sent a very different message to his followers. Its not just the blanket pardons that he provided to the January 6 insurrectionists, including those who violently attacked police officers. Trump has also said hes considering pardoning a group of men convicted of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), on the grounds that their conviction was a railroad job. The leader of the group had purchased an 800,000-volt taser for the kidnapping, and the FBI seized 70 firearms, 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and bomb-making equipment when they raided the group.In short, Trump has a history of excusing political violence from his supporters. His statement following the shootings was what youd expect from a president, but Trump didnt follow up with anything else. He hasnt called Gov. Tim Walz (D) to express his concern, nor has Trump tried to lower the political tensions that hes been doing his best to enflame the past week.Indeed, just days before the shootings in Minnesota, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) was thrown to the ground and handcuffed at DHS Secretary Kristi Noems press conference, even though he identified himself as a senator. Instead of saying that the incident was a horrible mistake, Noem insisted that she had no idea who Padilla was, that he crashed her news conference, and that he was lunging toward her. Meanwhile, at her press conference, Noem herself was using language that indicated the administration was literally at war with the democratically elected leaders of Los Angeles and California. She declared that the presence of the National Guard was to liberate LA from the socialists and the burdensome leadership this governor and mayor have placed on this country and this city.With such inflammatory language, which consciously portrays half the country as a threat to the rest of the nation, violence finds fertile ground. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.
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