Politics in 2026 is basically a giant, never-ending feedback loop of social media posts and immediate regret. Or, in some cases, a lack of regret. Most people remember the headlines from last summer, but the actual details of the Mike Lee Utah on Minnesota shooter controversy are way weirder and more tense than a thirty-second news clip lets on.
It started on a Saturday in June 2025. Minnesota was reeling. Former State House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were dead. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were in the hospital, fighting for their lives. While the police were still literally hunting for the guy in the woods, Senator Mike Lee of Utah decided to take to X—formerly Twitter—and drop a series of posts that basically set the internet on fire.
The Posts That Started the Fire
Senator Lee has two accounts. There’s the official one, which is all "thoughts and prayers" and polished press releases. Then there’s @BasedMikeLee, his personal account where things get... spicy. On that Sunday morning, while the suspect, Vance Boelter, was still on the run, Lee posted a photo of the man in a bizarre latex mask.
✨ Don't miss: Was There an Earthquake Today in Colorado? What the Data Actually Shows
The caption? "This is what happens. When Marxists don't get their way."
He didn't stop there. About twenty minutes later, he posted another photo with the caption "Nightmare on Waltz Street." It was a clear jab at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, though Lee actually misspelled the Governor's name. For a sitting U.S. Senator to basically blame a double murder on "Marxists" before a suspect is even in handcuffs? That’s not exactly standard operating procedure.
Honestly, the backlash was instant. People weren't just mad; they were confused. As it turns out, the "Marxist" label didn't really fit the guy in the mask.
Who was Vance Boelter?
While Lee was painting a picture of a far-left radical, the reality on the ground in Minnesota was telling a different story. Vance Luther Boelter, 57, wasn't some underground revolutionary. He was a religious conservative. He’d been spotted at Trump rallies. He’d even been appointed to a state workforce board years prior—first by a Democrat, then renewed by Walz—but there was zero evidence he was part of some Marxist uprising.
His notebook was full of names, mostly Democrats and abortion rights supporters.
The Hallway Confrontation
One of the most human moments in this whole mess happened in a Senate hallway. It wasn't a televised debate or a formal hearing. It was just Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota catching Lee near the Senate floor during a vote.
Smith was close friends with Melissa Hortman. She was grieving. She told reporters afterward that she looked Lee in the eye and told him exactly how much pain his posts had caused. She called them "cruel."
"I needed him to hear from me directly what impact I think his cruel statement had on me, his colleague," Smith said.
Lee apparently looked surprised. He isn't used to people stepping out of the digital world and into his physical space to hold him accountable for a tweet. After that talk, and a separate conversation with Senator Amy Klobuchar, the posts finally vanished. He deleted them. But in the age of the internet, "deleted" is a relative term. The screenshots had already traveled around the world five million times.
Why the Mike Lee Utah on Minnesota Shooter Narrative Stuck
You might wonder why a Senator from Utah is so obsessed with a shooter in Minnesota. It's part of a bigger trend. Lee has become one of the most prolific posters in Congress, sometimes averaging nearly 100 posts a day. He’s leaning into a specific brand.
By the time he deleted the Minnesota posts, they had racked up over 13 million views combined. For a politician, that kind of reach is a drug. Even if the information is wrong—even if it's "not even true," as fellow Republican Senator Kevin Cramer put it—the engagement is real.
The Double Standard?
The story took another turn a few months later when conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed in Utah. This time, Lee’s reaction was completely different. He was somber. He called for national unity and hailed Kirk as a patriot.
People noticed.
The contrast between "Marxist nightmare" for Democratic victims and "cowardly act of violence" for a conservative one became a major talking point. It highlighted just how deep the partisan rot goes. If we can't even agree that a shooting is a tragedy without checking the victim's voter registration first, where are we actually going?
Breaking Down the Aftermath
The legal case against Boelter is still moving through the courts, but the political case against Lee’s social media habits is basically settled in the court of public opinion. He hasn't apologized. He just moved on to the next topic.
Here is what we know for sure about the Mike Lee Utah on Minnesota shooter situation:
- The claims were baseless: There was no evidence Boelter was a Marxist or a leftist.
- The timing was brutal: The posts went up while the victims' families were still in shock and the shooter was at large.
- The pressure worked: It took direct, face-to-face confrontation from colleagues to get the posts taken down.
- The "Based" brand continues: Despite the Minnesota incident, Lee hasn't slowed down his online persona.
Actionable Steps for Navigating Political News
It's easy to get sucked into the rage-bait. When a high-profile figure like a Senator posts something shocking during a tragedy, your brain wants to react immediately. Here is how to handle it next time:
- Wait 24 Hours: In almost every mass shooting or political tragedy, the "first news" is wrong. Whether it's the shooter's identity, their motive, or the weapon used, the initial 12-24 hours are a fog of war.
- Check the "Other" Account: If a politician has a personal and an official account, compare them. The gap between the two usually tells you exactly what kind of game they are playing.
- Look for Primary Sources: Instead of trusting a tweet about a "Marxist" or "Fascist" motive, wait for the police press conference or the unsealed indictment. Those documents don't care about "likes" or "retweets."
- Demand Nuance: If a story feels too "perfect" for one political side’s narrative, it’s probably being spun. Real life is usually messier and less convenient than a political meme.
The Minnesota shootings were a horrific act of violence that shattered families. Using that moment for "sick burns" on social media might win a few followers, but as his colleagues reminded him, it comes at a massive cost to the dignity of the office.
Understand the difference between a representative and an influencer. When those lines blur, the truth is usually the first thing to go.
Next Steps: You can look up the official court filings for the Vance Boelter case to see the full list of evidence collected from his residence, which provides a much clearer picture of his actual motivations than any social media post.