Hortman children urge Trump to remove post promoting conspiracy theory

The children of Melissa and Mark Hortman asked President Trump on Sunday to remove a social media post that gave credence to a conspiracy theory about the shooting that killed their parents in Minnesota last June. Melissa Hortman, the former Democratic speaker of the Minnesota House, was killed on June 14 along with her husband and their dog after a gunman who impersonated a police officer came to their home, authorities said.

Another lawmaker, State Senator John Hoffman, and his wife were also shot and injured, officials said. The man now charged in the killings, Vance Boelter, has pleaded not guilty. On Saturday, Mr. Trump reposted a video on his platform Truth Social that falsely insinuated Gov. Tim Walz was involved in the assassination because Mr.

Boelter had served on a state panel under Mr. Walz’s administration. The video also claimed, without offering evidence, that Ms. Hortman was aware of a Minnesota fraud scheme that prosecutors say involved dozens of people and hundreds of millions of dollars. Gov. Walz has called Mr.

Trump’s reposting “dangerous, depraved behavior.” As of Monday evening the post remained on Mr. Trump’s account, and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. Ms. Hortman’s children said the video “fuels the flames of political division” and asked Mr. Trump to remove it and apologize.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Melissa Hortman, Tim Walz, Vance Boelter, Truth Social