An Illinois man is charged with felony threats of violence against Minnesota’s lieutenant governor in the wake of last week’s mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Aug. 27 after the shooting that killed two students and injured another 21 people. She said her heart went out to those affected and asked people to join her in prayer.
A person commented on Flanagan’s post: “You should be genuinely shot and killed,” according to the criminal complaint filed Wednesday by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.
Flanagan made another post on X thanking police, emergency healthcare workers and clergy.
The same account commented: “Children’s blood is on your hands and soon it will be coming out of your mouth and (expletive) throat as we beat you,” the complaint said. It added that the person also wrote, “You should be strung up by the neck …”
A Minnesota State Patrol trooper working at the Capitol district was assigned the case after a Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension criminal intelligence analyst reported their open source aggregation system alerted them to a threatening post.
BCA staff identified the X user by an IP address as Caden J. Sluder, 22, of Oglesby, Ill., the complaint said.
The trooper called a phone number for Sluder on Aug. 27 about his posts. “Sluder said it was a joke,” according to the complaint. “I’m not actually gonna (expletive) do anything. I’m not crazy.”
He said he was “pissed off and Christians got killed in Minnesota and the Lieutenant Governor was wearing a trans shirt.”
The 23-year-old shooter at the church died by suicide afterward. The shooter’s mother had filed a petition for a name change for the suspect from Robert Westman to Robin Westman, noting Robin Westman identified as female, at age 17.
Flanagan has been pictured in the past wearing shirts that say, “Protect Trans Kids.”
Sluder told the trooper “he lives far away and had no intention of traveling to Minnesota to commit the crimes,” the complaint said, adding that he apologized multiple times. He said “he was making a joke, was very frustrated, and expressed his freedom of speech.”
A warrant has been issued for Sluder’s arrest. The Pioneer Press could not reach him for comment Wednesday.
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