Prominent Minnesota Republicans are demanding Democratic Gov. Tim Walz terminate the employment of a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) official who cheered the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, arguing that failure to do so would constitute an endorsement of political violence.
State Sens. Andrew Matthews, Steve Drazkowski, Cal Bahr, and State Reps. Pam Altendorf, Shane Mekeland, and Ben Davis issued a joint statement in which they pushed for Walz to act. The statement referred to the assassination attempt as “a disturbing example of political violence and Americans rightly were disturbed by the attack, regardless of political affiliation.”
“Our country’s founding principles embrace the free exchange of ideas without fear of violence or retribution. Citizens participating in the American electoral process instead became victims of violence and witnesses to the attempted murder of a former US President and current political candidate,” the legislators said.
They then referenced Tyler Janke’s post, in which the DNR employee lamented of the would-be assassin, “too bad they weren’t a better shot.” The Republican legislators decried this as an act which “degrades our civic dialogue, and casts doubt on the commitment of state employees to serve all Minnesotans of all stripes.”
The legislators chastised Walz for his non-responsiveness, declaring, “Governor Walz has maintained a steady schedule of media interviews over the last month and has been weirdly silent about something that falls directly under his leadership. We call on the governor to fire this state employee immediately. Tim Walz’s failure to even publicly condemn this statement or take action to hold this employee accountable sends the message he condones political violence and violent rhetoric from the state employees that he oversees. It’s wrong and Minnesotans deserve better from their top elected official.”
Walz, for his part, has only doubled down on rhetoric painting Trump as a political extremist. While campaigning for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Walz rhetorically quipped, “are they a threat to democracy? Yes. Are they going to take our rights away? Yes. Are they going to put people’s lives in danger? Yes.”
“The fascists depend on fear. The fascists depend on us going back,” said Walz, who is widely reported to be on the shortlist as a possible running mate for Harris.
Tim Walz calls Trump a "threat to Democracy" and a "fascist" who will "put people's lives in danger" just two weeks after Trump survived an assassination attempt. pic.twitter.com/ssNQdGFqEr
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) July 29, 2024
Alpha News reached out to both Walz’s office and the Minnesota DNR for comment. The DNR redirected Alpha News to its original statement, in which the agency stated, “violence or the threat of violence has absolutely no place in American politics. The recent assassination attempt on former President Trump was a heinous act with tragic consequences. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources vehemently rejects the use of violence, or the insinuation of violence, in any form.”
The agency said state law prevents it from commenting further. Walz’s office responded after deadline, saying the governor has made a number of public comments on the assassination attempt and pointed Alpha News to one of his tweets. Like the DNR, his office indicated that state law prevents him from commenting on personnel matters.
This story was updated with comment from the governor’s office.
Evan Poellinger
Evan Poellinger, the Alpha News Summer 2024 Journalism Fellow, is a native Minnesotan with a lifelong passion for history and politics. He previously worked as a journalism intern with the American Spectator and an investigative journalism fellow with the Media Research Center. He is a graduate of College of the Holy Cross with degrees in political science and history.
