Hortman children condemn Trump post promoting false theory about their parents’ killing

The children of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman are asking for President Donald Trump to take down a social media post he made Saturday, Jan. 3, that amplified a baseless conspiracy theory suggesting Gov. Tim Walz was involved in the killing of their parents.

Trump reposted a video on Truth Social asserting, without evidence, that Walz had Melissa Hortman assassinated — a claim that has circulated in fringe online spaces since her death and has been repeatedly rejected by law enforcement and state officials.

The video the president reposted appears to refer to Hortman’s vote last summer to side with Republicans and take away health care coverage from adult undocumented immigrants.

“She voted for that bill because it was the only way to avoid a government shutdown,” said her son Colin Hortman in a statement Sunday.

He later said: “She was in a very tough position on that vote. She had never really voted against her conscience like that. It was emotional and extremely difficult. Her struggle with that vote makes this conspiracy all the more painful for me.”

Hortman’s daughter Sophie said the video Trump shared was “a painful, false twisting of [her] mother’s final vote.”

The Hortman children asked the president to remove his posting.

The chamber is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, so at least one DFL member had to cross over for the bill to pass.

The repost drew swift and unusually bipartisan backlash in Minnesota, where officials warned the rhetoric was dangerous and retraumatizing for the victims’ families.

Walz responded on X, denouncing Trump’s repost as reckless and threatening.

“Dangerous, depraved behavior from the sitting president of the United States,” Walz wrote. “In covering for an actual serial killer, he is going to get more innocent people killed. America is better than this.”

Republican state Sen. Julia Coleman also condemned the post, urging leaders to draw a clear line against conspiracy theories tied to violence.

“We must all reject this behavior outright and refuse to tolerate it.”

“The American people, grieving families, and the legacies of those lost deserve far better,” she added. “Debate policies fiercely. Fight for what you believe in. But do not speculate, guess, or spread stories that are plainly false and deeply harmful.”

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar accused Trump of legitimizing violent disinformation and disregarding the harm inflicted on the victims’ families.

“The President is literally endorsing the crazy conspiracy reasoning of a multiple murderer. An assassin,” Klobuchar wrote. “Think of how Melissa’s and [husband] Mark’s family feel when they see this. But that’s the point — the President doesn’t care.”

Former Republican House Majority Leader Pat Garofalo also condemned the repost, saying it compounded the damage already done.

Law enforcement officials have said there is no evidence linking Walz or any other elected official to the attack.

Vance Boelter of Green Isle, Minn., has been charged with killing Hortman and her husband on June 14 and critically wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.

The attacks set off an intense, multiday manhunt and widespread public safety alerts across Minnesota. Investigators have repeatedly rejected conspiracy theories surrounding the attack.