The 24-year-old daughter of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said troubling messages with “real-life consequences” have led her to temporarily unplug from social media out of concern for her family’s safety.
Hope Walz on Wednesday posted a video on TikTok in which she said she is taking a break from social media for the next couple of weeks.
In the past few days, Hope Walz said, “I have gotten some really scary emails ... DMs, comments, just stuff on the internet. And it’s gotten to a point where it is not really safe for me to be on the internet right now. So I’m going to take a step back until probably after Christmas.”
She went on to say that “what is being said on the internet potentially has ... real-life consequences that ... could potentially harm me or my family, and that is where I draw the line. ... I just have to look out for my family and my family’s safety.”
Over the weekend, according to various media reports, Hope Walz said in a since-deleted TikTok that President Donald Trump’s “cult members” have been “[expletive] disgraceful” to her and her family since Trump used a slur related to intellectual disabilities toward Tim Walz in connection with the ongoing immigration crackdown on the Somali community in the state.
Trump’s name-calling hit close to home for the Walz family. Gus, Hope Walz’s 19-year-old brother, has a nonverbal learning disorder.
State Patrol Lt. Mike Lee, whose agency provides security for the governor, said Thursday that “we are aware of these communications” involving Hope Walz.
“The Minnesota State Patrol takes any potential threat seriously,” Lee said. “Our investigators are working with the [state] Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to review the information and respond appropriately.”
