Republican US Senator Mike Lee has come under fire for his response to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with critics pointing to his earlier reaction to the fatal shootings of two Minnesota Democratic lawmakers. Lee posted a tribute to Kirk on Wednesday, calling the 31-year-old Turning Point USA executive director an "American patriot" and condemning his murder as "a cowardly act of violence". He also asked for prayers for Kirk's widow and children.
However, many social media users recalled that just three months ago, Lee had shared misinformation after the June 14 shootings that killed former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and wounded state Senator John Hoffman and his wife. In a now-deleted post, Lee wrote "This is what happens when Marxists don't get their way" alongside a picture of the suspect, Vance Boelter, who was wearing a latex mask. There was no evidence Boelter is a Marxist; friends described him as right-leaning, and he was registered as a Republican in Oklahoma in 2004.
Lee also posted "Nightmare on Waltz Street" under another picture of Boelter, a reference to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was Kamala Harris's running mate in the 2024 election. Conservative influencers had misleadingly suggested an alliance between Walz and Boelter, though Walz did not know him. Two days after the shootings, Democratic Senator Tina Smith confronted Lee, calling his posts "brutal and cruel". Lee subsequently deleted them.
After Kirk's killing, Lee told reporters that Kirk had recently texted him about being excited to visit Utah, and he introduced a Senate resolution deploring the way Kirk was killed. In response, one X user asked Lee "what has changed" because he had "expressed no sympathy" after the Minnesota shootings. Another user said: "I wish you would have shown that same respect to Melissa Hortman and her husband." Smith posted about Kirk nearly an hour before Lee, writing: "Horrific. We all need to condemn these acts of political violence."
