Claim right-wing podcaster suggested slaying of Minnesota lawmaker was 'message' to Democrats lacks key context

On June 14, 2025, a screenshot of a post by right-wing podcaster Alec Lace went viral in response to the killings of Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman. 

Per the screenshot, Lace's official X account stated: "Make no mistake. What happened to Melissa Hortman was a message to all Democrats. You vote against us and your life is at stake!" 

Numerous posts shared the screenshot, and readers asked us if Lace actually posted that message and whether it was meant as a threat to Democrats. 

(Facebook user "Brian Tyler Cohen")

While Lace did post the message above, the screenshot was missing crucial context as to his intent. Lace was not threatening Democrats but speculating on the motive behind Hortman's killing, suggesting that one of her legislative votes upset her Democratic base. Lace shared the above X post while quoting his previous post in which he said Hortman "sounded fearful," as though "she knew that her base would become unhinged." We thus rate this claim as correct attribution, but missing context as to meaning.

Lace had shared a video online of an interview with a visibly upset Hortman. She was describing the difficulty of being the sole Democrat who voted to repeal healthcare coverage for undocumented people in order to prevent a government shutdown. In response to her interview, Lace wrote on X: 

Melissa Hortman sounded fearful after voting to repeal healthcare for illegal aliens

Almost as if she knew that her base would become unhinged

She and her husband were tragically shot and killed. A targeted attack, per Gov. Walz. 

Was her vote the motive?

Lace quoted the above post on X and then wrote: "Make no mistake. What happened to Melissa Hortman was a message to all Democrats. You vote against us and your life is at stake!"

(X user @AlecLace)

In a follow-up to his original post about Hortman, he wrote, "The left is the Party of Political Violence." 

Lace also shared a post from Grok, X's AI-chatbot, which stated, "No, Alex Lace is not calling for violence in the post. He is expressing an opinion that the murder of Melissa Hortman and her husband was a targeted attack intended to send a message to Democrats who vote against certain policies."

As we reported before, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Vance Luther Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, Minnesota, with stalking and killing Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, in addition to stalking and shooting Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman. Minnesota's acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson called the shootings "political assassinations."

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office in Minnesota announced Boelter also faces state charges on two counts of second-degree intentional murder and two counts of second-degree attempted intentional murder. The state said it intended to seek first-degree murder charges, and that the reason authorities filed second-degree charges was "to secure a warrant as quickly as possible."

We previously fact-checked how U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted a photo showing her aiming a rifle soon after news broke of the killings, though her spokesperson did not say whether she was aware of it at the time. She later condemned the shootings.