SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Senator Mike Lee is facing widespread criticism after posting comments that appeared to make light of a deadly shooting involving a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband. The backlash includes strong responses from Minnesota’s two U.S. senators.
On Sunday, Lee shared photos of the suspect in the double homicide and captioned them with the phrase “Nightmare on Waltz Street.” The post, shared from his personal X account, seemed to reference the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street while mocking the name of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat.
Lee, a Republican and close ally of former President Donald Trump, had already posted several comments suggesting the suspect was a “Marxist” and “not MAGA,” even before the man was taken into custody. Authorities arrested Vance Boelter on Sunday after a statewide manhunt. Police allege that Boelter shot and killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, while injuring state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Gov. Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, called the killings a “politically motivated assassination.”
Investigators say Boelter posed as a police officer and wore a rubber mask when entering the Hoffmans’ home. The motive is still unclear, but law enforcement said Boelter had a list of potential targets, including Minnesota Democrats and abortion providers.
Lee’s social media posts drew strong condemnation from Minnesota’s senators. Sen. Tina Smith reportedly pulled Lee aside during a private GOP meeting on Monday to confront him directly.
“I wanted him to hear from me how painful and brutal that post was during an already horrific weekend,” Smith said. “He didn’t say much. I think he was stunned.” She added that Lee should “think about the implications of what he’s saying” and warned that his words “fuel hatred and misinformation.”
A senior aide to Smith also sent a harsh letter to Lee’s staff. The letter accused the senator of exploiting the deaths of public servants and questioned his morality. “Do you have no conscience? No decency?” it asked. The aide added, “I pray that, if you ever face a similar tragedy, you’ll receive more compassion than Sen. Lee showed.”
Throughout the weekend, Lee continued to post provocative statements. On Saturday, he wrote, “My guess: He’s not MAGA,” referring to Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan, Make America Great Again. Later that night, Lee posted that “the left” is a “full-blown domestic terrorist organization,” and added, “Marxism kills. Americans must reject it — always.”
He followed up with another post stating, “Marxism is a deadly mental illness,” referencing Boelter’s past appointment to a state board by Gov. Walz. While Marxism is a political theory by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, some Republicans use the term broadly to criticize Democrats.
Though friends told the Associated Press that Boelter was an evangelical Christian who attended Trump rallies, his precise motives remain unclear. He was previously registered as a Republican in Oklahoma before moving to Minnesota.
After news of a shooting at an anti-Trump protest in Salt Lake City, Lee posted a video showing people running from gunfire. He captioned it: “Make it stop. Condemn all political violence.” Police confirmed that an innocent bystander, fashion designer Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, was killed in that shooting.
On Sunday morning, Lee also shared a police image of the Minnesota suspect in a rubber mask. “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way,” he wrote. That post was pinned to the top of Lee’s profile but was later removed after KSL.com contacted his office for comment.
Just 25 minutes later, Lee posted the “Nightmare on Waltz Street” image. That post received over 10 million views and was shared thousands of times. As of Monday morning, Lee had not responded to media requests for clarification.
Later Sunday, Lee made his first statement on the killings from his official Senate account. “These hateful attacks have no place in Utah, Minnesota, or anywhere in America,” he wrote. “Please join me in condemning this senseless violence and praying for the victims and their families.”
Last week, Lee introduced a Senate resolution accusing former FBI Director James Comey of threatening the president by posting a picture of seashells spelling out “8647.” Lee claimed the post signaled support for the assassination of President Trump. The resolution calls for a formal investigation into Comey’s post, despite Comey stating it was not meant as a threat.
Political Reactions
Lee’s comments triggered sharp responses from fellow lawmakers, both in Utah and across the nation.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said she plans to confront Lee in person. “This isn’t funny,” she said during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “Melissa Hortman and her husband were incredible people. Their kids just lost both their parents — on Father’s Day.”
“This is not a joke,” Klobuchar continued. “The violence we are seeing is real. It’s dangerous. And mocking it helps no one.”
In Utah, state Sen. Nate Blouin also criticized Lee. “@SenMikeLee is why I won’t equivocate or ‘both-sides’ the moment we’re in,” Blouin posted. “He represents the Republican Party’s fall into conspiracy and lies.”
Blouin added, “It’s not my neighbor with a Trump or NRA flag that keeps me up at night — it’s so-called leaders like Mike Lee.” He also called for Lee to be removed as chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Brian King, a former Utah lawmaker and Democratic Party chair, said, “Sadly, this is what we’ve come to expect from Mike Lee: detached from reality and aligned with extremism.”
Caroline Gleich, a former Democratic Senate candidate in Utah, also weighed in. “On Father’s Day, Mike Lee mocked a political shooting that left two children orphaned,” she posted. Gleich later called for Lee to resign, citing his lack of empathy and judgment.
