Donald Trump Jr. has called the transgender community “the most violent domestic terror threat” in the U.S. and “probably the entire world,” while claiming that suspected right-wing assassin Vance Boelter — who allegedly slaughtered Minnesota’s pro-LGBTQ+ House speaker on Saturday — is actually left-wing. He is echoing right-wing anti-trans smears and conspiracy theories about Boelter that contradict publicly available facts.

When discussing Boelter with right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson, Trump Jr. claimed that Boelter allegedly murdered Minnesota’s state House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband because “she voted against Democrat Party policy, which was the unabashed unlimited health care funding for illegal immigrants.” There is no proof that Boelter targeted her for her June vote on that issue, as police haven’t released Boelter’s rumored manifesto or revealed his views on that policy.

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The people’s anger has clearly spawned some creativity.

Trump Jr. took this a step further and inexplicably tied Boelter to the trans community, telling Johnson, “It’s like the radical transgender movement is per capita the most violent domestic terror threat, if not in America, probably the entire world … because you have all these shooters and murderers or attempted murderers in such a tiny population.”

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His comment is a common trope of right-wing anti-trans rhetoric. Right-wing figures like Trump, Trump Jr., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and other conservative media outlets have repeatedly claimed that trans people are dangerous and have falsely claimed that numerous school shooters are trans.

However, the truth is that the vast majority of mass shooters in the U.S. are cisgender males. The right-wing focus on gun-toting queers and shooters’ mental illness is merely a way to stigmatize queer people while also drawing attention away from gun control regulations that could help stop gun-related deaths in the first place.

As proof of Boelter’s far-left affiliation, both Trump Jr. and Johnson noted that the suspected killer had “No Kings” fliers in his vehicle, referring to the massive weekend anti-Trump rallies, and added that Boelter had been appointed to a bipartisan workforce development board by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

“I have a feeling that leftist Tim Walz isn’t exactly appointing conservatives,” Trump Jr. said

Walz’s spokesperson told PolitiFact that Boelter’s 2019 reappointment to the 60-member board by Walz differs from gubernatorial appointees to the governor’s office or cabinet, adding that Walz had no relationship with Boelter, PBS reported.

Johnson also noted that Boelter was the self-described CEO of something called the Red Lion Group, though it’s unclear what this group does, NBC News reports. Johnson claimed, without offering any evidence, that Red Lion is a non-governmental organization that received funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Johnson insinuated that any USAID-funded group is left-wing — because the president has largely defunded and dismantled USAID — even though the agency has operated under Republican and Democratic presidencies since 1961.

Johnson claimed that the No Kings rallies encouraged people to kill the president and claimed that violence is not normal among the president’s “Make America Great Again” base of followers. However, a 2024 Associated Press fact-check found that right-wing groups have committed more acts of political violence in recent U.S. history. It’s also worth noting that Trump pardoned January 6 rioters who injured over 100 police officers during the 2021 Capitol riots.

While Boelter’s voting records didn’t list any party affiliation, local Minnesota news outlet KARE interviewed Boelter’s roommate and alleged best friend, David Carlson, who said that Boelter was a strong supporter of President Donald Trump. Police also found that Boelter had a suspected hit list of 70 individuals, including Democratic lawmakers and supporters of reproductive choice and other liberal causes, The Washington Post reported.

Nevertheless, numerous right-wing social media posts by transphobic billionaire Elon Musk, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), and other conservative politicians have claimed that Boelter was a left-wing “Marxist.”

Boelter reportedly attended a Bible college that is a stronghold of the New Apostolic Reformation, a movement that champions Christians to overtake the U.S. government. He also delivered an anti-LGBTQ+ sermon at a church event in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2023.

President Trump has reportedly not called Walz following the weekend slayings.

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