A horrific and inexplicable crime spree took place a week ago in Minnesota. Now blame must be assigned. It took eleven (11) reporters from the Minneapolis Star Tribune to produce this piece,
A devout Christian with failed ambitions and an arsenal of firearms who chose ‘war’.
The alleged “devout Christian” is Vance Boelter, accused of committing two murders, two woundings, and stalking two other homes in the small hours of last Saturday. All of the victims or would be victims were Democrats, including a sitting state representative (killed) and state senator (wounded).
It’s been decades since I last attended Sunday school. If I recall the catechism correctly, Mr. Boelter’s alleged actions would not qualify as devotion in my faith tradition. Your mileage may vary.
The Star Tribune piece is triple-bylined and carefully assigns blame to all of the out groups in the eyes of the news outlet. A partial list:
- Christians
- Gun owners
- Preppers
- Family men
- Republicans
- Trump supporters
All of the above descriptions of Boelter allegedly originate with Boelter himself, filtered through friends, family, and business associates. These characterizations, 2nd- 3rd-, 4th-hand, are then filtered again through nearly a dozen Star Tribune reporters, not counting the editors involved.
Yet this same Star Tribune also printed this piece yesterday, writing,
In a rambling, conspiratorial letter addressed to the FBI, alleged assassin Vance Boelter claimed Gov. Tim Walz instructed him to kill U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar so that Walz could run for the U.S. Senate, according to two people familiar with the contents of the letter.
What? That sounds like the ravings of a mad man, which it probably is. But you are hearing (almost) directly from the man himself. (Authorities rarely release the original texts of such “manifestos.”) No filters.
So, you are not supposed to believe Boelter when he directly tells the FBI that Gov. Tim Walz told him to murder a sitting U.S. Senator. But every other utterance Boelter made to third parties must be the gospel truth.
The Star Tribune also notes about the letter,
It also allegedly contained Boelter’s confession that he carried out the shootings that killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and injured Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
Everyone (including me) is perfectly willing to believe Boelter’s latter confession, but no one gives any credence to the former’s accusation. Why not? Both come from the same document, from the same source.
The Star Tribune quotes a Boelter acquaintance as saying, “Obviously he was living a double life.”
But which Boelter to believe? Boelter #1? Boelter #2? Both? Neither? If you want to believe that Boelter was a rabid Trump supporter, don’t you also have to believe that Boelter was a hitman sought out by Tim Walz? Or can you believe that neither is true?
To overcomplicate matters, the Star Tribune also reports,
In speculating about Boelter’s motives, social media users pointed to his appointment to workforce development boards under two Democratic governors.
What you are invited to do is to cherry pick those adjectives that reinforce your ex-ante beliefs.
Meanwhile, the craziness continues in Minnesota. Earlier this week, a lobbyist went off his nut and appears to have threatened (indirectly) a sitting Republican state representative.
Sticking with the Star Tribune,
Minnesota lobbyist jailed in connection with text threatening violence at the State Capitol.
They add,
Police have arrested a registered lobbyist suspected of sending a text message that included a threat to bring a gun to the State Capitol.
The suspect was held Wednesday evening in Carver County jail on allegations that he made “threats of violence.” He was still in jail as of early Thursday.
Deep breaths everyone. Deep breaths.
