Trump Faces Calls to Delete Video With False Claims About Minnesota Senator’s Death
In June, Melissa Hortman, a state representative from Minnesota, and her husband, Mark, met their tragic end.
President Donald Trump is being urged by the daughters of deceased Minnesota state legislator Melissa Hortman to take down a post on Truth Social that supports a conspiracy theory claiming Tim Walz, the governor of the state, was involved in Hortman’s demise.
On the same day, Democrat state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot and injured in their house.
The shootings are attributed to Minnesota resident Vance Boelter. It was the biggest manhunt in Minnesota history to apprehend Boelter.
He entered a not guilty plea in August after being charged with federal murder in July On Saturday, Trump posted the video, which appears to have been created by another social media user who posted other footage.
It made unsupported allegations linking the killings to Walz and purported fraud in Minnesota’s governmental programs.
There is no proof that such a connection exists.
Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2024, described Trump’s remark on Saturday as “dangerous, depraved behavior from the sitting president of the United States” and predicted that he will “get more innocent people killed.”
Walz declared, “America is better than this.”
“My parents, Mark and Melissa, as well as their cherished [dog] Gilbert, have passed away, and the president’s video is another obstacle our family must overcome,” she continued.
“I kindly request that President remove the post on Truth Social in order to honor the spirit of the holidays we just spent without our parents and to take into consideration the pain and sadness we have experienced.”
In a statement, the Hoffman family declared that it “stands with Sophie and Colin Hortman.”
“This situation demands accountability and empathy. The family stated that taking down the post would be an essential step in the direction of civility.
A request for comment regarding the remarks made by the Hortman children and questions regarding Trump’s motivation for sharing the video were not immediately answered by the White House.
In recent weeks, Trump’s administration has responded to widespread claims of fraud in some state programs in Minnesota by sharing the footage.
For a few years, the Justice Department has looked into claims of fraud in Minnesota. Since 2022, an investigation involving the nonprofit organization Feeding Our Future has resulted in criminal accusations against over 70 individuals, some of whom are Somali residents of the state.
