President Donald Trump is amplifying baseless social media posts that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had been part of a conspiracy to kill Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman last year over a day care fraud scandal in the state that’s been spotlighted by right-wing influencers.
Hortman, a Democrat, was serving in the Minnesota Capitol when she and her husband were killed in June by a gunman impersonating a police officer. Vance Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, Minnesota, has been indicted by the Justice Department on federal murder charges.
In the video Trump shared Saturday night, an unnamed narrator claims without citing any credible facts that Walz, also a Democrat, directed Boelter to assassinate Hortman because she voted against “a multibillion-dollar money laundering fraud” — a reference to a years-long welfare fraud investigation over day care centers in Minnesota that has been amplified in recent weeks.
The video was one of several conspiracy theories Trump shared Saturday related to the Minnesota fraud scandal. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the president’s posts.
The video references a voteHortman made in June, when she crossed party lines to vote with Republicans to cut access to the state’s health care benefits program for undocumented immigrants over the age of 18. Her vote was part of a deal with Republicans in the state’s split legislature to pass a budget.
The video falsely claims that Walz opposed the bill, even though the governor signed the measure. The bill was not linked to any of the allegations being investigated, where prosecutors say scammers brazenly stole from safety net programs for day care services they never provided.
Walz slammed Trump for sharing false allegations as “dangerous, depraved behavior” that could lead to more political assassinations.
“In covering for an actual serial killer, he is going to get more innocent people killed,” the governor said Saturday on X. “America is better than this.”
State Republicans have also sought to debunk conspiracy theories tying the fraud allegations to Hortman.
Minnesota state Sen. Julia Coleman (R), who has repeatedly condemned the peddling of the misinformation involving Hortman’s death, told The Washington Post in a statement on Saturday that “the American people, grieving families, and the legacies of those lost deserve far better” than the spread of false, harmful conspiracy theories.
“When leaders across the country — from state senators like me to voices in every corner — repeatedly call for an end to baseless conspiracy theories, it’s a powerful signal: We must all reject this behavior outright and refuse to tolerate it,” Coleman said. “Debate policies fiercely. Fight for what you believe in. But do not speculate, guess, or spread stories that are plainly false and deeply harmful.”
Among other things, the video shared by Trump also incorrectly claims that Boelter was a Walz aide. Boelter did not directly work for Walz, and his only known connection to Minnesota politics was as part of a 60-member Governor’s Workforce Development board, an unpaid advisory board.
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