The internet is full to overflowing with speculation and conjecture concerning the Minnesota murder suspect named as Vance Boelter.
Boelter is a suspect in a double murder and a related double shooting committed yesterday in two Minneapolis suburbs. The deceased were state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. The shooting victims were state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.
The theory that the incidents were politically motivated seems well-founded, given that the Representative (a former House speaker) and the Senator (a committee chair) are among the victims.
But beyond that, independently verifiable facts in the case are all but nonexistent. One fact that is independently verifiable is that Boelter was twice appointed as a member of an obscure body, the Governor’s Workforce Development Board. He was appointed by Tim Walz and Mark Dayton, both Democrats.
It is a verifiable fact. It’s significance, if any, is unknown.
There are over 200 such boards and commissions in state government. Hundreds of such appointments are made every year. Few of these bodies hold any real power and the Workforce Development Board is not among them.
Media have covered this story extensively. But every other item reported, at this point, is unverified, unverifiable, hearsay, or speculation. Sherlock Holmes must be spinning in his grave.
We have not yet hit the 48-hour mark in this case. The suspect is still at large. Hold your horses.
