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."
杀手与民主党有何关系？就因为他是沃兹任命的，车上有＂不要国王＂的标语，读读新闻吧，看看杀手更像什么人？
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 发表评论于 2025-06-14 14:14:45
很多人很容易表现盲人模象的的思维，但如果那样下结论就有点煞偪了！
speedingticket 发表评论于 2025-06-14 14:13:40
为什么枪杀他人？应该等结果出来才能评论。说不定只是因为感情纠纷，和党派无关
zwh96 发表评论于 2025-06-14 14:11:30
如果世界都像楼下这蠢货智力，这世界就简单多了！
西楼月如钩 发表评论于 2025-06-14 14:10:57
被枪杀已经支持共和党政策了
tim waltz应该辞职！
民主党变成了黑社会党。
西楼月如钩 发表评论于 2025-06-14 14:09:29
这还看不出那一边的？
民主党在惩罚叛徒。
议员刚投票支持反移民法案。
动了民主党的奶酪
bluetag 发表评论于 2025-06-14 14:07:00
那他到底是那一边的？
又抓瞎了 发表评论于 2025-06-14 13:53:12
被枪杀的霍特曼是唯一一位投票削减成年非法移民医疗保健机会的民主党人。
smeagolrocks 发表评论于 2025-06-14 13:52:36
“ Maybe it’s time for us to be a little meaner”—Walz
民主党立法者被暗杀；右翼影响者吐出虚假信息
就在明尼苏达州人得知民主党众议院领袖梅丽莎·霍特曼被暗杀几个小时后，在X上拥有180万粉丝的右翼影响者科林·鲁格发布了一份报告，暗示她被杀是因为最近投票终止了无证成年人注册MinnesotaCare的能力，MinnesotaCare是为工作穷人提供的补贴健康保险。
另一位在X上拥有140万粉丝的右翼影响者Mike Cernovich，他接管了Rugg的帖子并提升了它，但以许多阴谋论的“只是提问”风格：
“Tim Walz为了发送消息而处决了她吗？”
他们对MinnesotaCare问题深感无知。
Walz和Hortman在通过立法方面发挥了重要作用，允许无证人士在2023年注册MinnesotaCare担任众议院议长，他们与明尼苏达州立法机构的共和党人谈判达成妥协，终止成人的资格，但保留儿童的资格。 他们这样做是为了在众议院以67-67票赢得必要的共和党支持，以通过州预算。 如果没有它，州政府将在7月1日关闭。
Hortman和Walz都在5月中旬签署了妥协协议。 本周，霍特曼泪流满面地谈到投票对她来说是多么困难，但由于事先达成了协议，她必然对这个问题投了赞成票。
Rugg和Cernovich的帖子被广泛分享，这只是虚假信息的开始。
一旦执法消息人士开始揭露一名嫌疑人，右翼影响者就带着一个微不足道的细节逃跑了：Vance Luther Boelter是“Walz的任命者”。
像许多州一样，这里更是如此，明尼苏达州拥有数百个无党派和两党董事会和委员会，这些董事会和委员会由数千人组成，他们通常通过志愿服务赢得任命。 明尼苏达州董事会和委员会目前有342个空缺职位。 Boelter被Walz的前任州长任命为劳动力发展委员会成员。 马克·戴顿被沃尔兹重新任命。
这相当于称主日学志愿者为“主教的任命者”。
无论如何，默多克媒体机器，特别是《纽约邮报》的标题是：“蒂姆·瓦尔兹的前任命者寻求......”
Cernovich有他油腻的铝箔热狗包装纸，开始制作一顶帽子：
“民主党的副总统候选人与国内恐怖分子有直接联系，这被证实了，唯一的问题是Tim Walz本人是否下令对投票反对Walz为非法移民提供免费医疗保健计划的对手进行政治打击。”
Walz没有这样的计划。 他签署了一项协议，终止了无证成年人的资格。
Joey Mannarino在X上拥有超过60万粉丝，他更粗丽：
“有传言说她正准备换党。 民主党人是暴力的卑鄙小人。”
这是一个荒谬的“谣言”。 霍特曼最后一张活着的照片是她在民主党-农民-工党的大型年度筹款活动中的照片，即汉弗莱-蒙代尔晚宴，该晚宴就在她被暗杀前几个小时举行。
无论如何，Cernovich希望他在联邦执法部门的新朋友采取行动：
“联邦调查局必须立即拘留Tim Walz。”
最后，在唐纳德·特朗普总统手中屈辱的失败后，世界上最富有的人埃隆·马斯克再次引用某人的话，错误地声称霍特曼被“左派”杀害，并补充说：
“极左派是杀人的暴力。”
据一位看过名单的官员称，嫌疑人的“打击名单”包括明尼苏达人，他们直言不讳地支持堕胎权。 美国有线电视新闻网报道，它还包括几家堕胎诊所，这听起来不像是“左派”的工作。
右翼影响者破坏了霍特曼的死亡，并用一堆谎言抹黑了瓦尔兹。
在一个不同的、理智的世界里，他们会被羞辱并溜走。 但聪明的钱是，在国家危机和哀悼的下一个时刻，他们将再次为了利润而撒谎。