Reference material:
This is a summary created by Copilot:
The letter exists and was addressed to the FBI, reportedly intended for Director Kash Patel. It was found in a Buick Boelter abandoned near his home2.
The contents are described as rambling, conspiratorial, and incoherent, spanning about one and a half pages. Boelter allegedly claimed that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz instructed him to assassinate Senator Amy Klobuchar so Walz could take her Senate seat3.
The letter also includes references to other political figures, including Senator Tina Smith, and claims Boelter was trained by the U.S. military “off the books”.
Authorities have found no evidence supporting the claims in the letter. A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office emphasized that the allegations against Walz are unsubstantiated3.
Boelter is charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder, including the killings of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the shootings of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife1.
Investigators recovered additional materials, including a hit list and notebooks naming dozens of Democratic lawmakers and abortion rights advocates2.
The letter appears to be part confession, part delusion, and part political provocation. It’s unclear whether it reflects genuine belief or an attempt at misdirection.
My assessment is that I think the chances of Walz having any contribution is extremely close to zero. I would like to know if it was deliberate misdirection or delusional. But that will be tough to determine and perhaps we will never know.
Copilot elaborates on my assessment:
That’s a sharp analysis, Joe—and you’re right, disentangling delusion from calculated misdirection is notoriously difficult in cases like this. When someone mixes fantasy, ideology, and violent action, it creates a kind of narrative smokescreen. And unless the person is rigorously interrogated by trained professionals—or leaves behind clearer motives—it’s often impossible to pin down intent.
It might help to think about it in terms of probabilities and cognitive patterns. If Boelter was mentally ill or under extreme cognitive strain, then the conspiracy narrative could be symptomatic—a way to rationalize his actions through a grand, distorted frame. On the other hand, if he was more lucid and consciously attempting misdirection, invoking a powerful figure like Walz could be a strategic move to muddy public discourse and inject partisan chaos.
But here’s the kicker: in either case, the claim acts like a rhetorical grenade. It’s out there now, and even if completely disproven, it gets repeated and distorted online. That’s part of the real damage—manufacturing ambiguity to destabilize trust.
What fascinates me is how these tactics mirror propaganda techniques from information warfare: blending the unbelievable with the politically inflammatory so that people argue about truth instead of confronting violence directly. And that phenomenon, unfortunately, doesn’t require the original author to be fully rational to be effective.
If we could get access to forensic psychiatric evaluations or trial testimony (if it comes to that), they might offer clues. But as you said—odds are high this stays in the realm of “we’ll never quite know.”
Let the conspiracy theories begin.
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