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After Minnesota killings, Capitol Hill representatives face stark reality about family safety
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Most members of the U.S. House and Senate were nowhere near Washington when a gunman went to the homes of two Minnesota state lawmakers, killing two people and wounding two others.
And that’s exactly what rattled U.S. representatives and senators. They, too, weren’t in Washington. They were home for the weekend.
Police accuse Vance Boelter of killing Democratic state Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Boelter is also accused of shooting Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
All at their homes.
And that’s exactly what rattled U.S. senators and representatives. They weren’t in Washington.
Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman was fatally shot early Saturday. (Glen Stubb via Getty)
MINNESOTA LAWMAKER HAPPENED TO BE ON VACATION WHEN MASKED SUSPECT KNOCKED ON DOOR
«Minnesota was jarring because (the suspect) went after family,» said one House member who has faced threats and asked for anonymity. «We’re gone 50 percent of the time. There are no lines anymore.»
Congress lives in the era of doxxing. People sending pizzas to their houses – a not-so-subtle way of saying, «I know where you live.» Swatting.
It freaks the lawmakers out. But what shakes the members to the core is when a threat is directed at their families. Maybe a message is sent to the school where their children attend. Looming over the Minnesota massacre is the 2017 Congressional baseball practice shooting, which nearly killed House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. Then there’s the 2011 near-assassination of former Reps. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and Ron Barber, D-Ariz.
«We need to be proactive on our own,» said one lawmaker to Fox who asked they not be identified. «Not reactive.»
Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., canceled a town hall meeting with constituents this week after what went down in Minnesota.
«After being made aware that my name was on a list connected to the recent tragic shooting in Minnesota, my office has made the difficult decision to postpone our planned town hall in Muskegon,» said Scholten. «Out of an abundance of caution and to not divert additional law enforcement resources away from protecting the broader public at this time, this is the responsible choice.»
Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., in the Longworth House Office Building on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Officials found the names of dozens of House and Senate members on a list written by the alleged assassin.
This begs the question: can congressional security officials keep lawmakers safe?
SUSPECTED MINNESOTA LAWMAKER ASSASSIN VANCE BOELTER CAPTURED
One Democrat applauded efforts by the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP). But the lawmaker pointed out it was physically impossible for the USCP to protect all members and their families 24/7, both in Washington and in their home states or districts. USCP report more than 9,400 bona fide threats against lawmakers. USCP processed just a fraction of those threats a decade ago.
Moreover, there was zero information about the shooters at either the baseball practice or the Giffords rampage.
It’s one thing to track the «knowns.» The «unknowns» are even more scary.
So what are lawmakers to do?
Capitol security officials and the U.S. Capitol Police briefed all senators on the threats they faced early Tuesday morning.
«Sobering,» is how Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., described the conversation. «The threat to public officials and families is very real and very widespread.»
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., about the «Members Representational Allowance» or «MRA.» That’s a fund the House allocates to each member to run their office. Jeffries and Morelle asked Johnson to «substantially increase» the MRA, so lawmakers could bolster security services.
There’s also discussion about scrubbing the personal information of lawmakers from the web or approving anti-doxxing legislation.
«The increase in violence, the threats of violence against members didn’t happen by accident. It happened because of the coarseness of the debate,» said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
That means you can have all the security you want. But you can’t change how people think. What they decide to post online. Or where they decide to go.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, removed two social media posts about the Minnesota shootings amid a barrage of criticism from the left and the right. Lee equated the shooting to «Marxists» and insinuated that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) was partly to blame for the murders.
Sen Mike Lee speaks during a campaign rally for U.S. Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump at Findlay Toyota Center on Oct. 13, 2024, in Prescott Valley, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., tracked down Lee in the Mike Mansfield room of the Capitol Monday night to express her displeasure about the posts.
«Was he receptive to your concerns?» asked Ryan Schmelz of Fox News Radio.
«I would say he seemed surprised to be confronted,» replied Smith.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also sought out Lee.
«I told him what I’ve said publicly. That this isn’t one bit funny for my state,» said Klobuchar. «Sen. Lee and I had a good discussion, and I’m very glad he took it down.»
«Did he seem remorseful?» asked yours truly.
«Contrite?» questioned Lisa Desjardins of the PBS NewsHour.
«I’m not going to go into our discussion, or I wouldn’t be able to get things done,» responded Klobuchar. «But I will just say he took it down.»
Lee later ignored a question about why he removed the posts from colleague Tyler Olson.
So lawmakers find themselves – again – trying to lower the temperature.
And find solutions.
MINNESOTA OFFICIALS FIND CAR, HAT BELONGING TO ASSASSIN SUSPECT VANCE BOELTER ON HIGHWAY IN ‘FLUID’ SEARCH
If there isn’t action, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., is tinkering with forcing the House into a «Secret Session» to debate the right approach for congressional security. Such a resolution to move the House into a Secret Session needs a vote. It is also privileged. That means Moskowitz could go over the heads of House leaders and deposit the issue on the floor. The House could potentially vote to table or kill the effort.
The House has not held a clandestine session since 2008 – and only six such conclaves in the history of the republic. If members vote nay, they are on the record as opposing a secret session to discuss security.
But a consensus on what Congress wants – or if the U.S. Capitol Police has the wherewithal to handle – is a staggering proposal. The USCP is charged with protecting 535 members. What about guarding lawmakers back in their districts? And that’s to say nothing of family members.
Hoffman/Boelter/Hortman split (AP Images; Minnesota Department of Public Safety )
Moreover, security officials tell Fox there was a lot of criticism by members about the current security posture – from those who don’t take advantage of current programs afforded them by the House and USCP.
«They like to complain a lot,» said one Republican source who said many lawmakers failed to utilize security options.
Consider again why the Minnesota murders resonated so much on Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers are scared of stalkers and others who routinely threaten them. But it’s another level to target family members.
Some politicians run for office to attain power. Others for glory. And some, for good old public service.
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Their families didn’t run for anything. Their names don’t appear on the ballot. On the committee door. They aren’t on the wall in the Rayburn House Office Building.
But the names and addresses of family members are on the internet.
And that’s what freaks out lawmakers the most.
INTERNACIONAL
Iran’s Supreme Leader spends his days sleeping and getting high, Mossad-linked account says
Pillsbury: This is an invitation to strike Iran again
Fox News contributor Michael Pillsbury joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss President Trump’s meeting with Philippine President Marcos Jr. amid rising China tensions and Iran opening up indirect talks with the U.S.
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spends all day sleeping and using drugs while most of the country lacks access to clean water and electricity, according to a social media account linked to Israel’s national intelligence agency.
«How can a leader lead when they sleep half the day and spend the other half high on substances?» the Mossad’s Farsi account wrote Friday on X. «Water, electricity, life!»
«Consuming drugs and conversing with spirits are not desirable traits for someone leading a country,» the account wrote on July 9.
The post came from a new X account with a premium subscription created last month, claiming to be the official Mossad spokesperson in Farsi — the official language of Iran — though the Israeli intelligence agency has not officially confirmed the account’s affiliation.
EUROPEANS MEET WITH IRANIAN OFFICIALS FACE-TO-FACE FOR FIRST TIME SINCE ISRAEL, US BOMBINGS BEGAN
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spends all day sleeping and using drugs, a Mossad-linked social media account purported. (Getty Images)
The account has made several posts over the last month about Khamenei’s health and the state of Iran, including its lack of clean water, electricity and education.
«To everyone contacting us through private messages, for your own security, please ensure you are using a VPN,» the account’s bio reads.
A post on the account addressed the designation of the newly appointed, but officially unnamed, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which is the command headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces.
After the Tasnim News Agency, Iran’s semi-official news agency associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that Iran would not reveal the commander’s identity for his protection, the Mossad-linked account said it already knew the name and urged Iranians to send in their guesses.
27 INMATES FROM NOTORIOUS IRANIAN PRISON STILL AT LARGE AFTER ISRAELI STRIKE: TEHRAN
The Mossad-linked account has made several posts over the last month about Khamenei’s health and the state of Iran. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
The account responded to the «lucky winner» who guessed the name Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi and told him to «contact us privately to receive your prize.»
The satirical jabs and provocative claims coming from the account are unlike the way the Mossad usually communicates with the public, but two intelligence experts told JFeed, an Israeli news outlet, that the unusual Mossad-linked account appears to be authentic.
«Some of the information it has shared could only have come from Mossad,» Beny Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies and a former IDF Persian-language officer, told the outlet.
Khamenei’s alleged drug use has been suggested in the past, with an Iranian academic saying in 2022 that the Iranian Supreme Leader often uses drugs.
The Israeli intelligence agency has not officially confirmed the account’s affiliation. (AP)
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«Many viewers do not know this, but Khamenei himself uses drugs,» Nour Mohamed Omara said on Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated TV in Turkey at the time.
«He has a special village in Balochistan, where the drugs used by the leader are produced,» the academic added. «This village is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and no one is allowed in.»
The Ayatollah publicly declared drug use as «un-Islamic» after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Penalties for drug-related offenses can include death.
INTERNACIONAL
Continúan los enfrentamientos entre Camboya y Tailandia pese al anuncio de ambos países de su voluntad de diálogo para alcanzar un alto el fuego
Los gobiernos de Camboya y Tailandia anunciaron su disposición a dialogar para alcanzar un alto el fuego en la frontera común, luego de una propuesta del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump. Sin embargo, los enfrentamientos armados continuaron el domingo por cuarto día consecutivo, con nuevas detonaciones de artillería en la zona en disputa.
Periodistas de la agencia AFP reportaron que el fuego cruzado se reanudó en las primeras horas del domingo cerca de los templos fronterizos, foco del conflicto. “Los combates comenzaron a las 04:50 del domingo”, declaró una portavoz del Ministerio de Defensa camboyano. El conflicto ha dejado al menos 33 muertos y más de 170.000 desplazados desde el jueves.
El primer ministro de Camboya, Hun Manet, declaró que su gobierno “está dispuesto a discutir un alto el fuego con Tailandia con base en la propuesta de Trump”. También indicó que el canciller Prak Sokhonn establecerá contacto con el secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, Marco Rubio, para coordinar los términos del cese de hostilidades.
El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Tailandia, por su parte, confirmó en un mensaje en la red social X que “Tailandia acepta en principio tener un alto el fuego”.
Trump, desde Escocia, afirmó que habló con los mandatarios de ambos países y aseguró que las partes habían acordado reunirse y “llegar rápidamente” a un cese el fuego. La cancillería tailandesa indicó que el primer ministro interino Phumtham Wechayachai pidió al mandatario estadounidense “transmitir a la parte camboyana que Tailandia quiere convocar un diálogo bilateral lo antes posible”.
Los combates comenzaron el jueves en una zona cuya soberanía se disputa desde hace décadas, con el despliegue de aviones de combate, tanques, artillería e infantería. El Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU convocó una reunión de emergencia el viernes en respuesta a la escalada.
Según el Ministerio de Defensa de Camboya, han muerto 13 personas en su territorio —ocho civiles y cinco soldados— y 71 resultaron heridas. El ejército tailandés reportó 20 muertos, incluidos seis soldados.
Más de 138.000 personas fueron evacuadas de aldeas fronterizas tailandesas y otras 35.000 del lado camboyano. “Las relaciones solían ser buenas, éramos como hermanos”, dijo Sai Boonrod, de 56 años, refugiado en un templo en Kanthararom. “Solo quiero que terminen los combates para que podamos volver a ser como hermanos”.
Durante la reunión en Nueva York, el embajador camboyano ante la ONU, Chhea Keo, pidió “un alto el fuego inmediato e incondicional” y llamó a resolver el conflicto por la vía diplomática. En la misma línea, Phumtham Wechayachai advirtió que “si la situación se agrava podría derivar en una guerra”.
Cada país acusa al otro de iniciar las hostilidades. Tailandia denunció ataques contra infraestructuras civiles, entre ellas un hospital y una gasolinera. Camboya respondió que el ejército tailandés utilizó bombas de racimo. En la ONU, el representante camboyano cuestionó la versión tailandesa y señaló que su país, con menor capacidad militar, no inició el conflicto.
El choque representa una escalada significativa en una disputa territorial de larga data. En 2013, la Corte Internacional de Justicia falló a favor de Camboya en un litigio anterior, lo que calmó las tensiones durante más de una década. Sin embargo, la muerte de un soldado camboyano en mayo reavivó el conflicto. Actualmente, decenas de kilómetros de la frontera común siguen sin delimitar.
(Con información de AFP)
Asia / Pacific,Civil Unrest,ODDAR MEANCHEY
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Trump team ‘pissed off’ with Kemp over candidate pick in Georgia’s Senate GOP primary battle
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President Donald Trump’s political team and top advisers to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia apparently aren’t on the same page when it comes to the key southeastern battleground state’s Republican Senate primary.
The race is crucial for Republicans aiming to expand their Senate majority, as Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for re-election in a state that Trump narrowly carried in last year’s election, is viewed by the GOP as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in next year’s midterm elections.
Kemp, a popular two-term conservative governor whom Trump had heavily criticized in the past, was courted by national Republicans to take on Ossoff. But Kemp, who is term-limited, announced earlier this year that he would pass on a 2026 Senate run.
Sources in Trump’s political orbit and Republican sources in Georgia confirm to Fox News that there was an agreement between the president’s political operation and Kemp’s political team that they would work together to find a candidate that they could all unify behind to take on Ossoff in the Senate race.
FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP HOUSE ALLY TO LAUNCH SENATE BID NEXT WEEK IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is interviewed by Fox News Digital at a Republican Governors Association meeting in Washington D.C. on Feb. 20, 2025. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Those sources also confirm that Kemp and Trump – the ultimate kingmaker in GOP politics – met two weeks ago to discuss the Senate race in Georgia.
But when the governor floated the name of former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, a source close to the president’s political team said «they were told to stand down, because Trump’s team wasn’t ready to move forward on anybody.»
And when Kemp and his team did move forward with Dooley, it upset Trump’s advisers, who, according to sources, were «already pretty annoyed» that Kemp had passed earlier this year on taking on Ossoff in the Senate race.
POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR PASSES ON SENATE BID IN 2026
«We had a deal to work together,» a top political source in the Trump orbit told Fox News on Friday. «Kemp went out on his own – which has frustrated and pissed off Trump orbit.»
The source added that «the best option for the GOP in Georgia was and is Brian Kemp. Unfortunately, he has chosen the path of the weak, and – instead of leading – has decided to circumvent and self-anoint a candidate no one has heard of and the president hasn’t met.»
«The operation that delivered the win in Georgia was the Trump organization – not a faux operation – it’s hard to see it rallying behind the blind ambition of someone more interested in 2028 than in 2026,» the source said, in a not-so-veiled reference to Kemp’s potential interest in seeking the 2028 Republican presidential nomination.
Donald Trump shakes hands with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp after speaking at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Georgia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
But a source close to the governor told Fox News that it’s factually not true that they were told to stand down on Dooley.
And the source added that Kemp meant what he said that he wants to work with the president and his team and remains that way.
Kemp’s political team first floated the Dooley trial balloon about two months ago. A longtime Georgia-based Republican strategist said the reaction in the Peach State among Republicans «was very negative.»
Dooley, who is the son of former longtime University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, is close with Kemp, who is a longtime friend.
And Dooley has hired two top Kemp political advisers to help with his potential Senate campaign.
A Republican source in Georgia says a decision by Dooley on whether he’ll run could come as early as next week.
Republican Rep. Mike Collins, a Trump ally and supporter in the House, will announce his candidacy for the Senate next week, sources with knowledge told Fox News Digital on Friday.
Fox News has learned that Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia will launch a Senate campaign next week in the race against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. (Bill Clark)
Republican Rep. Buddy Carter, who for a decade has represented a district in coastal Georgia, launched a Senate campaign in the spring.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King also announced a run, but ended his bid on Thursday.
Trump and Kemp have a turbulent political history.
Trump backed the then-Georgia secretary of state in his successful 2018 campaign for governor.
But during the two years after his 2020 election defeat to former President Joe Biden, which included a razor-thin loss in Georgia, Trump attacked Kemp for failing to overturn the election results in his state.
Trump toned down the criticism in 2022 after Kemp crushed Trump-backed former Sen. David Perdue in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary, as Kemp successfully cruised to re-election to a second term as governor.
KEMP SPEAKS OUT AFTER TRUMP FLIPS AND PRAISES THE GEORGIA GOVERNOR
But last summer, amid the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump went on a 10-minute tirade against Kemp at a rally in Atlanta just blocks from the Georgia State Capitol. Trump blamed the governor not only for failing to overturn the 2020 vote count but also for not stopping a county prosecutor from indicting the former president for his attempts to reverse the results.
Trump quickly changed his tune on Kemp days later, and praised the governor in a social media post «for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country.»
Then-Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, left, walks with President Donald Trump as Trump arrives for a rally in Macon, Georgia. (AP )
Kemp, in a Fox News Digital interview a few days later, downplayed Trump’s tirade against him, calling it a «small distraction that’s in the past.»
As Dooley moves closer to launching a campaign, Collins is just days from declaring his candidacy.
Collins, a businessman who founded a trucking company, is in his second term representing Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which includes a large swath of urban, suburban, and rural areas between Atlanta and Augusta.
The conservative lawmaker, who’s the son of the late Republican Rep. Mac Collins of Georgia, has been moving closer to launching a Senate campaign for weeks.
Collins was an early backer of the president, supporting him as Trump first ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 cycle.
Collins at the beginning of this year reintroduced the Laken Riley Act, which mandates that undocumented immigrants charged with burglary or theft be detained. It’s named after a Georgia nursing student killed by a man who had illegally entered the U.S. The case grabbed national attention.
The bill, which quickly passed the Republican-controlled House and Senate, became the first legislation signed into law by Trump as he started his second tour of duty in the White House.
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A Republican source said that Collins has a «great relationship» with the president and his political team.
And a Georgia-based Republican consultant told Fox News that «the lane that Mike is going to run in is the America First fighter who’s been with President Trump.
Carter is also courting a Trump endorsement in the GOP primary.
Iran’s Supreme Leader spends his days sleeping and getting high, Mossad-linked account says
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