A Democratic legislator was assassinated; right-wing influencers coughed out disinformation
Just hours after Minnesotans learned that Democratic House leader Melissa Hortman had been assassinated, right-wing influencer Collin Rugg, who has 1.8 million followers on X, posted a report that hinted that she’d been killed because of a recent vote on ending undocumented adults’ ability to enroll in MinnesotaCare, a subsidized health insurance for the working poor.
Mike Cernovich, another right-wing influencer who has 1.4 million followers on X, took Rugg’s post and amped it up, but in the “just asking questions” style of many conspiracy theories:
“Did Tim Walz have her executed to send a message?”
They were deeply ignorant about the MinnesotaCare issue.
Walz and Hortman — who was instrumental in passing legislation allowing undocumented people to sign up for MinnesotaCare as speaker of the House in 2023 — negotiated a compromise with Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature to end eligibility for adults, but keep it for children. They did so to win necessary Republican support in the 67-67 House to pass a state budget. Without it, state government would have shut down on July 1.
Both Hortman and Walz signed the compromise agreement in mid-May. This week, Hortman spoke tearfully about how difficult the vote was for her, but she was bound to vote yes on the issue because of the prior agreement.
Rugg and Cernovich’s posts were shared widely and just the start of the disinformation.
Once law enforcement sources began revealing a suspect, right-wing influencers ran with an insignificant detail: That Vance Luther Boelter was a “Walz appointee.”
Like many states, but even more so here, Minnesota is home to hundreds of nonpartisan and bipartisan boards and commissions, which are composed of thousands of people who typically win the appointment by simply volunteering. There are currently 342 open positions on Minnesota boards and commissions. Boelter was appointed to the Workforce Development Council by Walz’s predecessor Gov. Mark Dayton and reappointed by Walz.
It was the equivalent of calling a Sunday school volunteer an “appointee of the bishop.”
No matter, the Murdoch media machine, specifically the New York Post, had their headline: “Former appointee of Tim Walz sought….”
Cernovich had his greasy foil hot dog wrapper and began constructing a hat:
“The Vice President candidate for the Democrat party is directly connected to a domestic terrorist, that is confirmed, the only question is whether Tim Walz himself ordered the political hit against a rival who voted against Walz’s plan to give free healthcare to illegals.”
Walz had no such plan. He had signed an agreement to end eligibility for undocumented adults.
Joey Mannarino, who has more than 600,000 followers on X, was more crass:
“Rumor has it she was preparing to switch parties. The Democrats are VIOLENT SCUM.”
It was a ridiculous “rumor.” One of the last photos of Hortman alive was an image of her at the Democratic-Farmer-Labor’s big annual fundraising event, the Humphrey-Mondale dinner, which took place just hours before her assassination.
No matter, Cernovich wanted his new friends in federal law enforcement to act:
“The FBI must take Tim Walz into custody immediately.”
Finally, fresh off his humiliating defeat at the hands of President Donald Trump, world’s richest man Elon Musk quote-tweeted someone again falsely alleging Hortman was killed by “the left” and added:
“The far left is murderously violent.”
The suspect’s “hit list,” according to an official who has seen the list, comprised Minnesotans who have been outspoken in favor of abortion rights. CNN reported that it also included several abortion clinics, which doesn’t sound like the work of “the left.”
Right-wing influencers marred Hortman’s death and smeared Walz on a pile of lies.
In a different, saner world, they would be humiliated and slink away. But the smart money is that during the next moment of national crisis and mourning, they will again lie for profit.
Dozens of Minnesota Democrats were on a target list written by the gunman, according to law enforcement sources.
Those on the list included Gov. Tim Walz, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and state Attorney General Keith Ellison, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the matter.
Police said the list -- which was retrieved from the suspect’s vehicle -- also named Hortman and Hoffman. Both victims are Democrats and Hortman was formerly the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The shooter’s list of potential targets also included the names of abortion providers and pro-choice activists, several sources told ABC News. Many of the Democratic lawmakers on the list have been outspoken about pro-choice policy positions, two sources said.
Security resources have been dispatched to protect those people named on the list, authorities said. The Capitol Police said it's "working with our federal, state and local partners."
殺手與民主黨有何關係？就因為他是沃茲任命的，車上有＂不要國王＂的標語，讀讀新聞吧，看看殺手更像什麽人？
The suspect: The suspect has been identified as Vance Boelter, a 57-year-old who works for a security company. A hit list with nearly 70 names — including other lawmakers and abortion providers — was also found in the suspect’s car, according to a law enforcement source. Officials said they still don’t know if anyone else was involved in the attacks.
zwh96 發表評論於 2025-06-14 14:14:45
很多人很容易表現盲人模象的的思維，但如果那樣下結論就有點煞偪了！
speedingticket 發表評論於 2025-06-14 14:13:40
為什麽槍殺他人？應該等結果出來才能評論。說不定隻是因為感情糾紛，和黨派無關
zwh96 發表評論於 2025-06-14 14:11:30
如果世界都像樓下這蠢貨智力，這世界就簡單多了！
西樓月如鉤 發表評論於 2025-06-14 14:10:57
被槍殺已經支持共和黨政策了
tim waltz應該辭職！
民主黨變成了黑社會黨。
西樓月如鉤 發表評論於 2025-06-14 14:09:29
這還看不出那一邊的？
民主黨在懲罰叛徒。
議員剛投票支持反移民法案。
動了民主黨的奶酪
bluetag 發表評論於 2025-06-14 14:07:00
那他到底是那一邊的？
又抓瞎了 發表評論於 2025-06-14 13:53:12
被槍殺的霍特曼是唯一一位投票削減成年非法移民醫療保健機會的民主黨人。
smeagolrocks 發表評論於 2025-06-14 13:52:36
“ Maybe it’s time for us to be a little meaner”—Walz
民主黨立法者被暗殺；右翼影響者吐出虛假信息
就在明尼蘇達州人得知民主黨眾議院領袖梅麗莎·霍特曼被暗殺幾個小時後，在X上擁有180萬粉絲的右翼影響者科林·魯格發布了一份報告，暗示她被殺是因為最近投票終止了無證成年人注冊MinnesotaCare的能力，MinnesotaCare是為工作窮人提供的補貼健康保險。
另一位在X上擁有140萬粉絲的右翼影響者Mike Cernovich，他接管了Rugg的帖子並提升了它，但以許多陰謀論的“隻是提問”風格：
“Tim Walz為了發送消息而處決了她嗎？”
他們對MinnesotaCare問題深感無知。
Walz和Hortman在通過立法方麵發揮了重要作用，允許無證人士在2023年注冊MinnesotaCare擔任眾議院議長，他們與明尼蘇達州立法機構的共和黨人談判達成妥協，終止成人的資格，但保留兒童的資格。 他們這樣做是為了在眾議院以67-67票贏得必要的共和黨支持，以通過州預算。 如果沒有它，州政府將在7月1日關閉。
Hortman和Walz都在5月中旬簽署了妥協協議。 本周，霍特曼淚流滿麵地談到投票對她來說是多麽困難，但由於事先達成了協議，她必然對這個問題投了讚成票。
Rugg和Cernovich的帖子被廣泛分享，這隻是虛假信息的開始。
一旦執法消息人士開始揭露一名嫌疑人，右翼影響者就帶著一個微不足道的細節逃跑了：Vance Luther Boelter是“Walz的任命者”。
像許多州一樣，這裏更是如此，明尼蘇達州擁有數百個無黨派和兩黨董事會和委員會，這些董事會和委員會由數千人組成，他們通常通過誌願服務贏得任命。 明尼蘇達州董事會和委員會目前有342個空缺職位。 Boelter被Walz的前任州長任命為勞動力發展委員會成員。 馬克·戴頓被沃爾茲重新任命。
這相當於稱主日學誌願者為“主教的任命者”。
無論如何，默多克媒體機器，特別是《紐約郵報》的標題是：“蒂姆·瓦爾茲的前任命者尋求......”
Cernovich有他油膩的鋁箔熱狗包裝紙，開始製作一頂帽子：
“民主黨的副總統候選人與國內恐怖分子有直接聯係，這被證實了，唯一的問題是Tim Walz本人是否下令對投票反對Walz為非法移民提供免費醫療保健計劃的對手進行政治打擊。”
Walz沒有這樣的計劃。 他簽署了一項協議，終止了無證成年人的資格。
Joey Mannarino在X上擁有超過60萬粉絲，他更粗麗：
“有傳言說她正準備換黨。 民主黨人是暴力的卑鄙小人。”
這是一個荒謬的“謠言”。 霍特曼最後一張活著的照片是她在民主黨-農民-工黨的大型年度籌款活動中的照片，即漢弗萊-蒙代爾晚宴，該晚宴就在她被暗殺前幾個小時舉行。
無論如何，Cernovich希望他在聯邦執法部門的新朋友采取行動：
“聯邦調查局必須立即拘留Tim Walz。”
最後，在唐納德·特朗普總統手中屈辱的失敗後，世界上最富有的人埃隆·馬斯克再次引用某人的話，錯誤地聲稱霍特曼被“左派”殺害，並補充說：
“極左派是殺人的暴力。”
據一位看過名單的官員稱，嫌疑人的“打擊名單”包括明尼蘇達人，他們直言不諱地支持墮胎權。 美國有線電視新聞網報道，它還包括幾家墮胎診所，這聽起來不像是“左派”的工作。
右翼影響者破壞了霍特曼的死亡，並用一堆謊言抹黑了瓦爾茲。
在一個不同的、理智的世界裏，他們會被羞辱並溜走。 但聰明的錢是，在國家危機和哀悼的下一個時刻，他們將再次為了利潤而撒謊。