Edina, MN – On Monday, June 23, a crowd of Minnesotans gathered to join the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump (PACAT) for a press conference and rally against right-wing violence, held in front of the Republican Party of Minnesota Office located in Edina.

In light of the targeted assassination of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and the attempted murder of Senator John Hoffman and wife, Yvette Hoffman, PACAT organized the press conference and rally to condemn the rise in violent right-wing extremism, fanned by the reactionary agenda of the Republican Party and President Donald Trump.

PACAT is a coalition composed of various grassroots organizations within the Twin Cities, working together to organize a fighting movement against Donald Trump and the reactionary rhetoric of the Republican Party.

The press conference was grounded in a tone of mourning and anger, as Olivia Crull, speaking on behalf of PACAT, said, “We offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Melissa and Mark Hortman, and our thoughts are with John and Yvette Hoffman in their journey to recovery. In the wake of this great loss to Minnesota’s fight for progressive change, what we will do is continue to organize in the hopes of making our communities better, safer, and free from reactionary violence.”

As more information surfaces from the tragedy on Saturday, June 14, it has become clear that both legislators, as well as the other individuals and organizations named on the shooter’s list of targets, were singled out because of their advocacy for reproductive rights and other progressive issues.

PACAT views the actions of the killer, Vance Boelter, not as an anomaly, but as part of the long history of anti-abortion violence in this country.

While addressing the crowd, Kristen Bledsoe of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee said, “Rhetoric that propagates the idea of ‘fetal personhood’ and equates abortion with murder, that dehumanizes abortion providers and people who have had abortions, will always lead to the kind of violence that killed Melissa and Mark Hortman. As much as they want to deny responsibility, the Republican Party knows this.”

Right-wing media accounts initially promoted the theory that the shooter was an immigrant or supporter of immigrant rights, given the recent cuts to MinnesotaCare for undocumented adults by the state legislature. Once the motives of the targeted attacks were revealed, the Republican party and conservative media have attempted to distance themselves from this political violence.

Yann Chen of the Minnesota Immigrant Action Committee spoke about this anti-immigrant rhetoric, saying, “Trump’s campaign against undocumented immigrants, against Black and brown people, against trans people, against women, against working-class folks of every background are not new. These platforms of hate have been promoted and associated with the Republican party for over 60 years.”

While some have praised the police response last week, activists against police brutality have pointed out the flaws in their response that led to Boelter getting away, as well as the double standard of how law enforcement treats oppressed nationalities.

Jae Yates of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice posed a question to Republicans, asking, “Will you racially profile white men who drive vehicles that are too similar to police cars or arrest them at nine times the rate of other racial groups? Of course not. Because none of you are willing to name the actual threat in the room, and none of you are willing to be honest about the fact that your enthusiastic embrace of white nationalism has fostered the environment for this horrific crime.”

On the day of the shootings, tens of thousands of Minnesotans protested at the Capitol as part of the national No Kings day of action. Drew Harmon of Minnesota 50501 referenced this moment, saying, “On the morning of June 14, we turned our sorrow into collective action as tens of thousands of Minnesotans came out in cities across the state, not just in Saint Paul, to highlight how sick and tired we are of this hateful rhetoric. But it will require continuous action, this is not something that can be fixed in one day. So, this is a call for everyone to continue the fight.”

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