Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives on Saturday night signed onto a letter urging Gov. Greg Abbott to strengthen protections for lawmakers, after a top Minnesota House Democrat and her husband were killed by an assailant early on Saturday morning.
At about 2 a.m. on Saturday, a man later identified as Vance Boelter allegedly shot House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home in Minnesota by impersonating a police officer. Boelter allegedly shot and injured another Democratic state senator at his respective home.
In a letter to Abbott, who is a Republican, 44 of the House’s 62 Democratic representatives said that the killings were fueled by “violent rhetoric” employed by Republican President Donald Trump, and called on the governor to condemn that rhetoric, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Trump has called immigrants “invaders” and has described political opponents as “enemies of the people.”
“For years, and just like the shooting in El Paso, violent rhetoric has stoked the flames of division and resulted in tragedy,” reads the letter, written by House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu of Houston, per the Statesman. “We await your immediate response and action to protect democracy in Texas, and your overt condemnation of political rhetoric that has now resulted in the murder of elected officials.”
Republicans last year argued that President Joe Biden’s rhetoric fomented an attempt on Trump’s life during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Several Texas Democratic lawmakers had planned to attend a “No Kings Day” demonstration on Saturday evening to protest Trump’s plans for a military parade on Saturday, his birthday, as part of the celebration of the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday.
On Saturday afternoon, the state Department of Public Safety alerted Capitol lawmakers and staff to a credible threat against elected officials who planned to attend the demonstration, all of whom were Democrats. DPS vacated the Texas Capitol and closed the Capitol grounds to secure the area before reopening the grounds to the public shortly before the demonstration began.
DPS arrested a Katy man on Saturday afternoon in connection with the threat, apparently neutralizing the threat, but law enforcement remains on high alert, Abbott said during a press conference on Monday.
It’s unclear whether Abbott denounced the president’s rhetoric during his event on Monday, though he said that authorities are continuing to monitor social media to identify threats before they become a danger to lawmakers.
“We all need to make sure that nothing like that ever happens in the state of Texas,” Abbott said, per the Statesman.
