Mike Lee Deletes Controversial Posts About Minnesota Democrat Shootings, Amid GOP Senator’s Criticism
Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) deleted a pair of highly controversial X posts on Tuesday that made light of the targeted shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers.
On Sunday, Lee took to X with two posts in reference to the shootings of State Rep. Melissa Hortman and State Sen. John Hoffman at their homes. Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, were shot and killed while Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were treated at a hospital for gunshot wounds. Shooting suspect Vance Boelter is now in police custody after a massive manhunt over the weekend.
“This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way,” Lee wrote in one post that included an alleged image of Boelter in tactical gear. Authorities say the shooting suspect posed as a cop to gain entry into the homes of the Democratic lawmakers.
Screenshot via X/Twitter
In a second post, Lee took aim at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D).
“Nightmare on Waltz Street,” he wrote, likely referring to Boelter being appointed to an advisory board in 2019 under Walz’s administration.
Screenshot via X/Twitter
Lee deleted the posts from his personal X account shortly after being confronted by a reporter about them and answering with nothing but silence. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) personally confronted Lee about the “cruel” posts in the Senate on Monday.
“I wanted him to know how much pain that caused me and the other people in my state and I think around the country, who think that this was a brutal attack,” she told reporters of their interaction.
One of Lee’s Republican colleagues, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), also criticized Lee over the posts.
“I just think whenever you rush to a judgment like this, when your political instincts kick in during a tragedy, you probably should realign some priorities, but I haven’t talked to Mike about it personally,” he told reporters.
Lee does still have a post up, as of this writing, defending his controversial remarks. In a June 16 tweet replying to another user, Lee exclaimed, “Ah yes. I must seek their permission.” The post he was responding to claimed Democrats don’t allow for “sarcastic posts” anymore.
