Okay, deep breath.
Hereโs what went down in Minnesota over the weekend, and itโs the kind of story that forces you to stare into the middle distance for a while, wondering, “What the hell is happening to this country?”
Melissa Hortmanโformer Speaker of the Minnesota House and a veteran Democratic lawmaker was murdered in her own home, alongside her husband, Mark.
Meanwhile, about five miles away, State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot and seriously wounded. Authorities believe it was all politically motivated. I wish I were making this up.
The alleged shooter?
A 57-year-old man named Vance Luther Boelter, now the subject of a statewide manhunt. He wasnโt just some guy off the streetโhe was, believe it or not, formerly part of the Minnesota Governorโs Workforce Development Board and apparently had a very intense anti-abortion agenda.
To top it all off, he disguised himself as a cop. Yep, fake police lights, uniform, even a suspiciously real-looking SUV marked โpolice.โ He walked into peopleโs homes like he belonged there, and then opened fire.
So, the obvious question: Did they catch the shooter in Minnesota?
No, not yet. As of this writing, Boelter is still at large. Authorities are throwing every resource at this, and the FBI has even thrown $50,000 on the table for anyone with information. He was last seen near Minneapolis and is believed to be trying to flee the state. Meanwhile, law enforcement is urging folks not to approach him if spottedโheโs considered armed, dangerous, and likely unstable.
Now, the question thatโs hitting everyone hardest: What the hell happened to Melissa Hortman?
Hortman and her husband were at home in Brooklyn Park when Boelter, dressed as a police officer, reportedly arrived in a vehicle rigged to look like a squad car. He entered their house under the guise of authority and shot them both multiple times. Melissa died at the scene. Mark died later at the hospital. Just an hour earlier, Boelter had attacked Hoffman and his wife in a similar fashion, leaving them both seriously injured.
Thatโs not even the full horror of it.
Boelter left behind a manifesto and a โtarget listโ with over 70 names, primarily Democrats and abortion rights advocates. Basically, he had an ideological hit list. Flyers from the โNo Kingsโ protest group were also found in his car, which has since led to protests being canceled out of fear of further violence.
Governor Tim Walz, visibly shaken, called it a โpolitical assassination.โ Thatโs not just rhetoricโitโs reality. This wasnโt a random act. It was deliberate, calculated, and deeply disturbing.
Heโs ordered flags at half-staff and ramped up security for public officials. In a state that prides itself on civility and snow boots, this kind of violence has thrown everything off its axis.
Online, reactions are raw.
One user posted, โThis is America nowโwhere politicians need bulletproof windows at home.โ
Others, across party lines, are offering condolences, prayers, and, yes, demands for accountability. Even former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who herself survived an assassination attempt, weighed in:
โAn attack on lawmakers is an attack on American democracy itself.โ
And whatโs even weirder? Boelter used to give sermons abroad, warning that American churches were โtoo softโ on abortion. He told a congregation in Congo that โGod will raise apostles to correct the church.โ Apparently, that correction involved tactical vests and bullets.
So what the hell is going on here?
From Boelterโs warped perspective, this was some divine crusade. In his head, he was a messenger with a mission. From the outside, itโs straight-up terrorism. Political rhetoric, amplified by media echo chambers and social media algorithms, has taken another horrifying leap into real-world violence.
To the average person with common sense?
This isnโt left vs. right anymoreโitโs sanity vs. extremism. If a man in a fake cop car can knock on your door and shoot you because you believe in clean energy or reproductive rights, weโve entered a different, darker timeline.
Well, I write daily (mostly the stuff I find interesting). If you like this whole no-nonsense approach, feel free to bookmark and come back tomorrow, or continue reading other stories to make up your mind.
See ya, internet friend.
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