No. of Recommendations: 6
Caution is always advisable in cases like this, but so is clarity: There is nothing ambiguous about what happened or why.
This was a carefully planned, targeted, cold-blooded political assassination. And it was politically motivated.
Despite the usual gaslighting and disingenuous spin from right-wing media Saturday — much of it amplified by uber-troll Elon Musk — we now know why the killer targeted his victims.
He wanted to kill Democrats. He had a manifesto. And a list.
None of this is in any way unclear or cryptic.
Dozens of Minnesota Democrats were on a target list written by the gunman, according to law enforcement sources.
Those on the list included Gov. Tim Walz, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and state Attorney General Keith Ellison, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the matter….
The shooter’s list of potential targets also included the names of abortion providers and pro-choice activists, several sources told ABC News. Many of the Democratic lawmakers on the list have been outspoken about pro-choice policy positions, two sources said.
The list also included Democrats from Wisconsin. Via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Democratic sources told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 11 Wisconsin lawmakers' names are on a manifesto police recovered in their search for Boelter. The group of Wisconsin lawmakers included eight women and three men, according to one source. All are Democrats.
What happened in Minnesota early Sunday morning cannot be written off as merely a “mental health” issue; and it can’t be blamed on video games, or glossed over by the usual pabulum of “thoughts and prayers”.
This is evil. Pure evil.
What happened in Minnesota is the sum of all nightmares, and it could get worse.
Charlie Sykes
