The suspected shooter of two Minnesota state legislators was arrested on Sunday evening in a wooded area near his home in Green Isle, Minnesota. Vance Boelter is believed to have shot Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, her husband, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife in two separate incidents on Saturday. Hortman and her husband were killed in the attack.
In a press conference after Boelter’s arrest, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) said that political violence can’t be “the norm” in the country, specifically mentioning “mean tweets” and “demeaning” people. He called for people and politicians to work together and demonstrate “decency.”
“It cannot be the norm; it cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences,” Walz said. “Now is the time for us to recommit to the core values of this country. And each and every one of us can do it.”
“It’s not about hatred, it’s not about mean tweets, it’s not about demeaning someone, it’s leading with grace and compassion and vision and compromise and decency,” Walz added. “That was taken from us in Minnesota with the murder of Speaker Hortman.”
Yet, as Walz condemned inflammatory rhetoric and suggested it was linked to political violence, the former vice presidential candidate has a history of making incendiary comments himself.
During last year’s presidential campaign, in October 2024, Walz insinuated that then-candidate Donald Trump’s rally in Madison Square in New York City, New York, was like a 1939 Nazi rally held at the same venue.
“Donald Trump’s got this big rally going at Madison Square Garden,” said Walz. “There’s a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the mid-1930s at Madison Square Garden.”
“And don’t think that he doesn’t know for one second exactly what they’re doing there,” he said.
Then, in May 2025, during a speech at the commencement ceremony for the University of Minnesota Law School, Walz referred to ICE agents as the “Gestapo.”
“Every single day, the President of the United States finds new ways to trample rights and undermine the rule of law,” Walz said. “And I’m going to start with the flashing red light. Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets.”
Walz’s comments drew criticism from Republicans and Department of Homeland Security employees.
MINNESOTA SHOOTING SUSPECT ARRESTED AFTER TWO-DAY MANHUNT
“Governor Walz’s comments comparing ICE agents to the Gestapo is sickening,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, in a statement at the time. “This type of rhetoric and demonization of ICE officers has led to our officers facing a 413% increase in assaults.”
“While politicians like Walz fight to protect criminal illegal aliens, our ICE officers will continue putting their lives and safety on the line to arrest murderers, kidnappers, and pedophiles that were let into our country by the previous administration’s open border policies,” she added.
