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.

  • @PunkRockSportsFan@fanaticus.socialEnglish
    71•4 days 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
      34•4 days 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
      20•4 days 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
          8•4 days 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.