The Deseret News has condemned Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee for social media posts about two shootings in Minnesota, writing that his comments “were unacceptable for anyone, let alone from a member of the Senate.”
The Utah-based publication, a subsidiary of the Morman-owned Deseret Management Corporation, accused Lee of casting a “poor light” on Utah after the senator posted multiple messages on X that seemed to blame Democrats — including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — for the violence.
“The tweets were unacceptable for anyone, let alone from a member of the Senate,” the Deseret News editorial board wrote. “It revealed a lack of compassion for both victims and their loved ones and cast a poor light on Utah, the state Sen. Lee represents.”
Lee’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday, Lee posted two separate messages to his X account about the weekend shooting in Minnesota that left a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband dead and another Democratic elected official and his wife seriously wounded. Lee also posted about the alleged shooter, 57-year-old Vance Boelter. Boelter was arrested Sunday and is now facing multiple charges, including murder.
“This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way,” Lee stated in one post. Another post included photos of Boelter with the caption “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” referring to and misspelling Walz.
Lee quickly faced backlash from other Congressional members, including Democratic Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, a friend of slain state Rep. Melissa Hortman. Smith confronted Lee on Monday in a hallway off the Senate floor during evening votes.
“I wanted him to know how much pain that caused me and the other people in my state, and I think around the country, who think that this was a brutal attack,” Smith told reporters. “I don’t know whether Senator Lee thought fully through what it was — you have to ask him — but I needed him to hear from me directly what impact I think his cruel statement had on me, his colleague.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) also said she spoke to Lee about the posts.
Lee faced criticism from members of his own party as well. North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer said Lee’s decision to comment “seems insensitive, to say the least, inappropriate, for sure” and “not even true.”
Lee deleted the posts on Tuesday, but the Deseret News editorial board is calling for Lee to issue an apology.
“Removing the tweets was a start,” the board said. “An apology and recognition of the mistake should follow.”