The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a “bad place” where most churches didn’t oppose abortion.

The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a “bad place” where most churches didn’t oppose abortion.

Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was at the center of a massive multistate manhunt on Sunday, a day after authorities say he impersonated a police officer and gunned down former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home outside Minneapolis. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz described the shooting as “a politically motivated assassination.”

Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were shot earlier by the same gunman at their home nearby but survived.

Friends and former colleagues interviewed by The Associated Press described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for Donald Trump. Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota where voters don’t list party affiliation.

  • CircaV@lemmy.caEnglish
    5·
    4 hours ago

    Yet the right-wing are spewing how Boelter is a Marxist. Fucking red baiting bullshit. 🙄🙄🙄

    • REDACTED@infosec.pubEnglish
      32·
      12 hours ago

      Correct me if I’m wrong, but targeted assasination of someone has never counted as domestic terrorism, unless carried out by non-state actors, just like the guy who attempted to kill Trump would not be a terrorist

      • pulsewidth@lemmy.world
        27·
        12 hours ago

        You’re wrong. Targeted assassination of political enemies is the use of violence against non-combatants for political/ideological aims. It’s textbook terrorism.

        They’re careful not to label it as terrorism because once you get on the back foot and admit that one white MAGA guy attempting (and succeeding) in killing a Democrat is terrorism then you have to admit that the tens of thousands of others who are threatening it should also be monitored and treated as serious threats - and they absolutely do not want to do that as they know that white conservatives are the majority of domestic terror threats in the US.

      • nibbler@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        7·
        12 hours ago

        I’m unsure what you mean by “non-state actor”, but Luigi is accused of a targeted assassination and is being called a terrorist.

      • barnaclebutt@lemmy.world
        5·
        12 hours ago

        Unfortunately, you are probably wrong. It seems that this guy killed them because of ideology. If that isn’t terrorism, then I don’t know what is terrorism.

    • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
      213·
      10 hours ago

      Legally there’s nothing such as domestic terrorism in America; the label "terrorist’ is exclusively used for foreign entities.

  • Asafum@feddit.nl
    47·
    16 hours ago

    “Thou shalt not kill.”

    “…well… I mean, if they’re a Democrat of course it’s ok to kill them.”

    Yes I am so religious… Riggggght.

    • Gerald of Hillwood@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      12 hours ago

      Christians got cucked by maga. Republicans got cucked by maga. The marines got cucked by maga. All of them either are too cowardly to do anything about it or too stupid to know they got cucked.

      • burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de
        31·
        7 hours ago

        I love that cucking is becoming a known word; it is rather fun to piss off maga-types with it but… I don’t think you’re using it quiiiite in the correct context. Every place you used it just now could be replaced with ‘hoodwinked and sucked in’ and be much more accurate.

          • Gerald of Hillwood@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            6 hours ago

            Here’s an example. Trump made the GOP his own, fucked it, and together they brought American fascism to life.

            Raping Lady Liberty isn’t a physical or literal act, but it is still a crime. Which do you suppose is bleeding more: her soul or her torn vagina?

            On a side note, a severe lack of critical thinking in America is why we’re in this mess.

    • Snowclone@lemmy.world
      19·
      14 hours ago

      It’s amazing how many people use their religion to justify murder. I remember this guy killed his wife because he wanted to be married to someone else, and he was so Catholic he just couldn’t get a divorce. So he killed her. Now what’s strange is, if you ask most Catholics they’ll tell you murder is ALSO a horrible sin. Like. Go to hell sin. 100% going to hell. Where as divorce is… frowned upon? But it’s not as bad as murder.

      • burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de
        4·
        7 hours ago

        The real answer to your unstated question is that they can (hopefully) get away with the murder and not be discovered. It would be nearly impossible to divorce without the entire community knowing.

        Most christians (conveniently) forget the little jesus parable about comparing the priest publicly donating and praying in the street to the woman quietly putting a much smaller amount in the donation coffers. To the modern christian, being a part of the ‘in-group’ by publicly making everything about their religion IS the way they engage with their religion. If they were to be rejected by the ‘religious community’ ONLY THEN would they care.

  • PunkRockSportsFan@fanaticus.socialEnglish
    683·
    19 hours ago

    Religious people are all mentally ill.

    This is what happens when they are armed.

    Religious people are dangerous and are all ticking time bombs ready to “punish” people who aren’t afflicted with the identical mental illness.

    • reddig33@lemmy.worldEnglish
      33·
      19 hours ago

      What worsens it are the grifters who aren’t really religious, but feed these people’s beliefs to rise to power and/or steal their money.

    • AlexLost@lemm.ee
      202·
      19 hours ago

      They are not mentally unwell, they are criminally undereducated or even miseducated. To not have a mandatory national school curriculum, hell even a state curriculum should be a way bigger talking point. It would be too, but you know, education…

        • iltoroargento@lemmy.sdf.org
          8·
          16 hours ago

          The Venn Diagram is basically a circle. I’d say all of these wanna be badass guys worship the same underlying psychological flaw. Comes in a lot of different flavors but there’s usually some serious psychosis going on with the “lone” wolf gunmen.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      134·
      18 hours ago

      Religious people are all mentally ill.

      I wouldn’t say they are for all religions…

      But definitely the “true believers” of the Abrahamic religions, like if you read any of those texts and are 100% onboard its all real. Abraham was a schizophrenic who heard voices that told him to kill his son, had textbook visual and auditory hallucinations and obviously delusions of grandeur. It’s so fundamental it’s present in all the big branches, schizophrenic symptoms are viewed as a legitimate communication with God that are often commands that must be followed no matter what.

      So some well adjusted people see it as “just a story” but if you sit thru that indoctrination your whole life and start hearing voices, there’s a good chance you see the voices as religious instructions.

      • PunkRockSportsFan@fanaticus.socialEnglish
        20·
        18 hours ago

        It’s not just a story.

        American women have fewer rights than their mothers.

        This has never happened in America before.

        This is the rest of us held hostag by mentally ill, violent people.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
          181·
          18 hours ago

          This has never happened in America before.

          Yes it has…

          If you think this is the first time a movement of Christians has stripped rights away thru a political movement, it makes me think you’re not aware of how long this fight has been going on.

          Like, from the first colonies, expansion into new colonies, the revolution, the civil war…

          At almost every major turning point of our country’s history, fighting off Christian extremists has been one of the few constants. They spent a couple decades working behind the scenes with both parties, but just because it was less visible for a while doesn’t mean it stopped and especially doesn’t erase our past.

          Like…

          You’re not wrong that it’s bad now, and I’m glad you realize that.

          But people need to understand history to understand how to fight today.

            • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
              4·
              7 hours ago

              You realize women could hold bank accounts in America for most of the countries existence…

              Right?

              Then they weren’t, and then in the 1970s they were allowed again.

              Same goes for owning land.

              But if you want someone to explain stuff, you might want to ask nicely, it sounds like you want an argument. I don’t have time for that.

  • DragonSidedD@lemmy.ml
    442·
    19 hours ago

    The USA is splitting. It is not about Republicans and Democrats anymore, nor is it really about Conservatives vs Liberals.

    It is about the Faith-based community, versus the Reality-based one.

    Personally I want to be on the side that has science and vaccines and no Invisible Friend in the Sky.