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Early Saturday morning, Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were shot and gravely wounded at their residence in the Minneapolis suburbs. The same gunman then traveled a short distance in an SUV that looked like a police car and murdered former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband in their home. (A note from Aaron: I interviewed Hortman for a 2023 edition of my podcast.)
The shootings were politically motivated. The police found a list of other targets, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, House Rep. Ilhan Omar, Sen. Tina Smith, and abortion rights supporters. The suspect, 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, is a security worker, pastor, and “strong” Trump supporter.
(As this newsletter was being finalized late Sunday evening, news broke that Boelter was apprehended by authorities about an hour southwest of Minneapolis.)
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the shooter and his motivations. It does seem clear, though, that this was an assassination targeted at Democrats. As such, it fits into a pattern of right-wing political violence which has been a signature of the Trump era.
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Trump himself has encouraged and defended violence directed at his political opponents. These threats (and more than threats) have helped to cow and silence opponents and critics.
Political violence, though, also creates backlash. And there are numerous signs that the association of MAGA with physical assaults on its opponents rallies resistance to Trump. The assassination of Hortman was an evil act. Many people realize that and are determined not to allow this kind of violence to continue as part of our politics.
Trump encourages violence
In his decade-long political career, Donald Trump has repeatedly encouraged or defended violent attacks on Democrats and political critics. As just a few examples:
— In 2015, during Trump’s first primary campaign, white attendees at one of his campaign rallies tackled and beat a Black protestor. Trump approved of the attack, telling Fox News, “Maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing.”
— In 2018, Trump praised then-US Rep. Greg Gianforte for physically attacking a reporter who asked him questions on the trail. “Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type!" Trump joked at a rally.
— In 2021, Trump encouraged an insurrection, in which an angry mob stormed the Capitol and threatened the lives and safeties of senators and House members. Seven people, including police and Trump supporters, are believed to have lost their lives as a result of the assault.
During the violence, some rioters chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” referring to Trump’s then-vice president who had certified his election loss. Trump privately expressed support for the idea of murdering Pence. He also, in his second term, pardoned all rioters and insurrectionists, making it clear that he saw their actions as justified and virtuous.
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