• Rep. Derrick Van Orden condemned the Minnesota shootings but the posted insults of Gov. Tim Walz.
• Van Orden called Walz "stupid" and "a clown" for having reappointed accused killer Vance Boelter to a state board.
• Van Orden's 3rd Congressional District borders much of Minnesota, including the Minneapolis area where the shootings occurred.

Hours after an assassin killed a Democratic state lawmaker and wounded another in Minnesota this past weekend, Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden's official social media accounts condemned the shootings.

"I am horrified by the attack on two Minnesota state lawmakers," read a post to Van Orden's official X account. "Political violence has no place in America. I fully condemn this attack, along with all forms of political violence and intimidation."

A day later, however, posts on Van Orden's personal accounts struck a different tone.

"Yesterday, a whole pack of election deniers got together and spewed hate," he wrote on X about nationwide protests on June 14 against the Trump administration. "One of them decided to murder and attempt to murder some politicians that were not far Left enough for them."

Van Orden, whose battleground 3rd Congressional District borders much of Minnesota, including the Minneapolis area where the shootings occurred, called Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz "stupid" and a "clown" in subsequent posts, noting the suspected killer, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, had been reappointed by Walz to a state economic workforce board years prior.

Boelter was arrested in a field outside Minneapolis late June 15 following a two-day manhunt. He faces federal charges in connection to the shootings of Minnesota Democrats.

State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed at their home in Brooklyn Park, and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot multiple times and wounded in Champlin. Both locations are neighboring suburban cities 10 to 20 miles outside Minneapolis.

Minnesota officials have labeled the attack politically motivated, though the exact motive in the shootings remains unclear. A roommate and close friend of Boelter's said Boelter voted for President Donald Trump last year and opposed abortion.

At least 11 Wisconsin lawmakers were named in a manifesto reportedly written by a gunman. Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin was among those listed, her office told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after Boelter's arrest. Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan said law enforcement officials informed him that both his and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore's names were also found on a list from the alleged shooter.

The posts from Van Orden's official and personal accounts, though, marked a stark contrast in the response to the assassinations and drew quick rebuke from Democrats, some of whom suggested Van Orden was fanning partisan divisions in the wake of the attack.

"Downplaying the killings of elected officials in MN so you can try to 'own' a liberal is pathetic," Pocan, who frequently spars with Van Orden, wrote on X.

"It is statistically impossible that you could be dumb enough to believe what you are writing," Van Orden replied.

Still, Van Orden's comments stood out against comments from other lawmakers who represent the area. When Walz, Minnesota's governor, posted a photo of Hortman under the caption, "The most consequential Speaker in state history," Van Orden replied: "You appointed the crazy zealot that murdered her to one of your boards, you clown."

In 2019, Walz named Boelter and dozens of others to his Governor’s Workforce Development Board, according to USA Today.

Asked about the social media posts, Van Orden in a statement to the Journal Sentinel said "the reason politically violent rhetoric and political violence has gone on for so long, even going back to people burning cars when President Trump was first elected, is because nobody is holding the perpetrators accountable."

"Republicans do not push back when we are insulted, and political violence continues because of it," Van Orden said. "The individuals who spew this hatred need to be called out."

Other local lawmakers, though, made no mention of either the board appointment or the protests against the Trump administration in their posts.

Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, whose 7th Congressional District also borders Minnesota, called the shootings "heartbreaking" and added: "Political violence cannot be tolerated. It must be condemned by all."

Minnesota Republican U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad, whose district borders Van Orden's, issues a similar response.

"This kind of targeted political violence is shocking and vile, and I’m hopeful that the law enforcement officers working to apprehend this criminal will bring him to justice as soon as possible," Finstad wrote on X.

When Minnesota Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Sunday evening shared a text from Hoffman's wife, who was wounded in the shooting, Van Orden shared a more positive message.

"May God grant them healing," he wrote.