The Wire - June 14, 2025

//The Wire//2300Z June 14, 2025//
//PRIORITY//
//BLUF: CONGRESSWOMAN ASSASSINATED, SENATOR WOUNDED IN MINNESOTA. ASSAILANT REMAINS AT LARGE. NATIONWIDE 'NO KINGS' PROTESTS REMAIN LARGELY LOW-INTENSITY DURING DAYLIGHT, THOUGH SEVERAL INCIDENTS REPORTED. NATIONWIDE COUNTER-ICE PROTESTS REMAIN MORE KINETIC.//

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-International Events-

Middle East: The Israeli/Iranian War continues as before, with both nations continuing to trade missiles overnight. Israeli forces have conducted more strikes targeting Iranian Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricant (POL) production facilities, and Iranian forces have responded by striking the POL refinery in Haifa.

-HomeFront-

USA: Most of the "No Kings" protests did go ahead as planned, though as expected turnout was comparatively low throughout the morning in most areas. During the daytime protest events, most of the participants at most of the "No Kings" protests have been elderly, which resulted in most of the No Kings events remaining relatively low-impact.

However, many Counter-ICE protests were conducted separately around the nation, many of which became kinetic. Standard cases of vandalism, civil unrest, and violence were reported in Los Angles, Chicago, NYC, Seattle, and several other major cities.

Minnesota: Overnight, an individual posing as a police officer conducted multiple assassination attempts at the homes of two local politicians in Minneapolis. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were ambushed at their home in Champlin by a gunman who posed as a police officer. Both were wounded during the attack. Later that same night, State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were ambushed in their home in Brooklyn Park. Both Hortman and her husband were killed in the attack.

Due to the similarities in their names, and these incidents taking place in close proximity to each other, the full casualty count regarding these attacks is as follows:

Senator John Hoffman - Wounded at the scene in Champlin, expected to survive
Yvette Hoffman (his wife) - Wounded at the scene in Champlin, expected to survive
Representative Melissa Hortman - Killed at the scene in Brooklyn Park
Mark Hortman (her husband) - Critically wounded at scene in Brooklyn Park, later died at the hospital.

The assailant remains at large, and a manhunt is underway in the Brooklyn Park area to locate the suspect. The suspect's vehicle (which was camouflaged to appear as a police cruiser) was recovered at the scene of the second series of murders. Inside the vehicle, were stacks of handwritten leaflets marked "No Kings", referencing today's planned protest events. Also found inside the vehicle was a hit list referencing targeting efforts of other politicians, however the details of this document have not yet been released.

Texas: This morning a fire was reported at the Marathon Refinery in Texas City. In Austin, the State Capitol was evacuated this afternoon, after an unidentified threat was presented to lawmakers. As of this afternoon, no amplifying information has been released regarding this incident.

Virginia: A vehicle ramming attack was attempted in Culpeper, as an individual drove his vehicle into one of the "No Kings" protests that was dispersing. Local authorities state that Joseph Checklick Jr. intentionally accelerated into the crowd, striking one person in the process. The assailant was arrested at the scene.

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Analyst Comments: At the moment, the assassinations (and attempts) in Minnesota are highly controversial topics and speculation does not often make the situation any better. However, in this case some speculation is needed to convey the potential future threats that may be ongoing due to the fugitive remaining at large. When time is of the essence, speculation that aids in the success of an investigation is doctrinally acceptable.

As such, the possibility must be considered that this may have been the actions of not just a lone gunman and/or a mental case, but rather a deliberate assassination at the behest of significantly powerful organizations and/or populations. A few days ago, Rep. Hortman crossed party lines to be the only Democrat that voted with the Republicans to support a bill that would ban illegal immigrants from receiving Minnesota state welfare benefits. Most notably, Rep. Hortman participated in several media interviews being visibly upset for begrudgingly supporting the bill.

Clearly, local authorities also suspect the link to be related to a political issue (since Hoffman and Hortman worked together). After the report of the shooting at Hoffman's home, authorities raced to Hortman's home a few miles away to "preemptively check on" the Congresswoman. After arriving at Hortman's house, police ran into the shooter, who was exiting the structure having already committed the shootings inside. After a brief small arms skirmish, the suspect evaded capture and departed from the area, prompting the large manhunt.

Regarding the shooter's identity, authorities claim that the individual is Vance Luther Boelter, a senior advisor and political activist who was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz to serve on the Governor's Workforce Development Board back in 2019. However, details surrounding the suspect's connections will be confusing until more information becomes public. While it's easy to assume the connection to Hortman due to her voting history, at the moment it's possible she wasn't the primary target...Hoffman and his wife were targeted first. Considering that a hit list was discovered at the scene, it is extremely likely that the officers who had the idea to check on Hortman saved lives. Unfortunately, Hortman and her husband did not survive the assassination attempt, but the officers engaging the suspect (and thus causing him to flee on foot) very likely prevented the shooter from continuing down his hit list to the next target.

Analyst: S2A1
Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground
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