By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
IndebtaIndebta
  • Home
  • News
  • Banking
  • Credit Cards
  • Loans
  • Mortgage
  • Investing
  • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Commodities
    • Crypto
    • Forex
  • Videos
  • More
    • Finance
    • Dept Management
    • Small Business
Notification Show More
Aa
IndebtaIndebta
Aa
  • Banking
  • Credit Cards
  • Loans
  • Dept Management
  • Mortgage
  • Markets
  • Investing
  • Small Business
  • Videos
  • Home
  • News
  • Banking
  • Credit Cards
  • Loans
  • Mortgage
  • Investing
  • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Commodities
    • Crypto
    • Forex
  • Videos
  • More
    • Finance
    • Dept Management
    • Small Business
Follow US
Indebta > News > Return of the American assassin
News

Return of the American assassin

News Room
Last updated: 2025/06/17 at 12:19 PM
By News Room
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free

Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world

People are not always what they seem. Vance Luther Boelter is a Christian preacher with a residential security company. He is suspected of killing the former Speaker of the Minnesota legislature and her husband and wounding another lawmaker and his wife. All were shot in their homes last weekend. To say the least, this would be an odd move from someone who preached non-violence and marketed home protection. Yet America has far more than its fair share of potential Boelters. The number of death threats against politicians, judges and other figures has been soaring.

Pity US law enforcement. Donald Trump made the most of nearly falling to an assassin’s bullet last July. A quarter of an inch separated him from death. One dreads to think what would have happened had he been killed. There is some dispute over the leanings of his late would-be killer, who had expressed both liberal and Republican views. There should be no dispute about Boelter, an ardent conservative who police say kept a hit list of 70 Democratic officials and abortion providers. Mike Lee, a Trumpian senator from Utah, nevertheless called Boelter a “Marxist”.

Law enforcement’s nightmare is that the Boelters are usually lone wolves. Killings are thus treated as black swan events. But US assassination has moved into a grey swan zone. Would-be political killers swim in increasingly hospitable waters.

According to his roommate, Boelter is a fan of Alex Jones, America’s leading conspiracy theorist. Jones is viewed as a crank but his reach is wide. Though bankrupted in a defamation suit, he continues to peddle the view that satanic globalists are out to destroy America. Their methods include paedophile rings (the “pizzagate” conspiracy), alleging fake school shootings (that the murdered children of Sandy Hook and their grieving parents were crisis actors) and the myth that the 2020 election was rigged for Joe Biden. Voltaire said that those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. It is fair to say that America 2025 is awash in absurdity. 

It has never been easier to buy a gun and legally conceal it. More than half of US states permit concealed carry in public places, including churches and bars. Last year, more than 16mn guns were sold in the US, which is a multiple of the total stock of privately owned guns in Britain. America has 120 guns per 100 people against 4.6 in England and Wales. The next highest democracy to America is Montenegro with 39 guns per 100 people — still a third of its level.

America’s right has no monopoly on violent fantasy. Many liberals openly wish for Trump to die. But they are far less likely to own guns, watch shows that advertise guns or consume media that advocates violence. Nor are their representatives stoking the militarisation of America. Trump’s “big beautiful” budget bill that was passed by the House of Representatives last month scrapped a $200 tax on gun silencers.

Much as Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, thinks he is being stymied by regulators, the National Rifle Association stokes paranoia that the Feds are coming after your guns. In practice it is now easier than ever for people with criminal records and mental illness to get hold of firearms. The Democratic party’s inability to counter the NRA publicity machine is stunning. The left has lost nearly every fight since the ban on assault weapon sales was lifted in 2004. The frequency of US school shootings has leapt since then. 

Here is the ticking bomb. Federal agencies have for years warned that America’s chief terrorist threat comes from the far right — both lone wolves and organised militias. Biden’s administration stepped up monitoring of such threats. Trump’s FBI and his Department of Homeland Security have shuttered those units. The first big step Trump took this time as president was to pardon hundreds of people who stormed Capitol Hill four years earlier in an assault that killed uniformed officers. Last month Trump said he was thinking of pardoning the nine men convicted of a plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan’s governor.

His message is plain. If you commit violence for Trump’s cause, he will have your back. That Trump nearly lost his own life is apparently immaterial. As America again offers empty thoughts and prayers to gun victims, one thing should be front of mind. The country has historically suffered phases of rife political killings and phases without. The difference lies in the level of rhetoric and availability of weapons. America in 2025 is making political murder easier. This is a choice, not fate. 

edward.luce@ft.com

Read the full article here

News Room June 17, 2025 June 17, 2025
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Finance Weekly Newsletter

Join now for the latest news, tips, and analysis about personal finance, credit cards, dept management, and many more from our experts.
Join Now
Russia attacks Ukraine’s draft offices in effort to undermine armed forces

Russian long-range drones have hit five military draft offices across Ukraine in…

China producer price deflation deepens as US trade war bites

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT…

Summer travel: How to save money on hotels

Watch full video on YouTube

We went to Texas for Tesla’s robotaxi launch — here’s what we saw

Watch full video on YouTube

Donald Trump’s ‘tariff wall’ takes shape around south-east Asia’s factories

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s…

- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

You Might Also Like

News

Russia attacks Ukraine’s draft offices in effort to undermine armed forces

By News Room
News

China producer price deflation deepens as US trade war bites

By News Room
News

Donald Trump’s ‘tariff wall’ takes shape around south-east Asia’s factories

By News Room
News

Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot praises Adolf Hitler on X

By News Room
News

US state department tightens cyber security after Marco Rubio impersonation

By News Room
News

Donald Trump escalates trade war with plans for 50% copper tariff

By News Room
News

Supreme Court allows Donald Trump’s plan for mass government lay-offs to proceed

By News Room
News

SpaceX heads to $400bn valuation in share sale

By News Room
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Youtube Instagram
Company
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Press Release
  • Contact
  • Advertisement
More Info
  • Newsletter
  • Market Data
  • Credit Cards
  • Videos

Sign Up For Free

Subscribe to our newsletter and don't miss out on our programs, webinars and trainings.

I have read and agree to the terms & conditions
Join Community

2023 © Indepta.com. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?