'Just a Regular Christian' and a Political Assassination
The rhetoric and ideologies of right-wing extremists can lead to violence, and that appears to be what happened this past weekend.
Vance Boelter was charged with killing Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband. He also shot and seriously injured state Senator John Hoffman (D) and his wife, and went to the houses of two other Democrat lawmakers who were not home. Notebooks with the names and addresses of over 45 government officials were found in his car.
"Political assassinations are rare. They strike at the very core of our democracy," said acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson for the district of Minnesota. "... His crimes are the stuff of nightmares."
There is still much to learn about what motivated Boelter, but we do know that Boelter is an evangelical Christian who consumed a lot of right-wing extremist content, exactly the sort of content we've been warning about here at AVC.
David Carlson, Boelter's roommate, who says they've been best friends since childhood, was shocked at the news, comparing it to "getting struck by lightning."
"There was a darkness that was inside of him. He must have kept it hidden," Carlson told Associated Press.
Boelter was "just a regular Christian and kind of outspoken," Carlson said.
Boelter's church condemned the shootings, pointing out that his actions are "the opposite of what Jesus taught his followers to do."
Boelter also attended an charismatic evangelical Bible college, which also condemned the shootings, saying the college "unequivocally rejects, denounces, and condemns any and all forms of violence and extremism, be it politically, racially, religiously or otherwise motivated."
Carlson also said Boelter was a Trump supporter who listened to a lot of the InfoWars, a far-right extremist and conspiratorial website. Its founder, Alex Jones, lost a $1.3 billion lawsuit by the families of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting for making false claims. Just this week, another suit was filed accusing Jones of fraud for trying to hide his money to avoid paying the Sandy Hook families.
Given Boelter's media diet and religious background, I encourage journalists and prosecutors to look into the extent to which apocalypticism and Manichaeism were part of his ideology. Certain politicians and religious leaders have been using this sort of language, describing political differences as ultimate battles between good and evil, God and Satan, with Republicans on God's side and Democrats fighting for Satan. As I warned in this newsletter just over two years ago, "The apocalyptic language being used to describe the 2024 presidential election could contribute to more extremism, including violence."
Beware Apocalyptic Politics
The apocalyptic language being used to describe the 2024 presidential election could contribute to more extremism, including violence.
I spoke about Boelter in a video posted to our social media channels this week, along with my reaction to attending the No Kings Protest, and a response to some criticisms we heard from some MAGA-evangelicals on X. I said,
My message to my fellow conservatives and fellow evangelicals, is this: While there is certainly extremist ideology and rhetoric coming from the political left, we desperately need to understand and address the corrupting influences coming from within our own tribe.
You can watch the whole video here:
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Abstract
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