After Vance Boelter was identified as the suspect in the shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses, social media users examined his footprints to determine whether he’s a Democrat or a Republican.
The discourse continued after the manhunt and arrest, and some social media users shared an image that they said should clear things up.
“Democrats saying that Vance Boelter is a Republican, let’s put that to rest right now,” text in the image of a June 16 X post says. It shows an image of a man wearing a shirt reading “Resist” with an illustration of a hand holding a gun. Beside him, a woman wore a shirt that read “I think therefore I am … a Democrat.”
(Screenshot from X)
But the posts are wrong; the image does not show Boelter. Reverse-image search shows the photo was posted June 14 by an X user who said the two are Lillie Schechter, former chair of the Harris County Democrat Party in Texas, and her husband, Brian Trachtenberg.
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
The same photo was posted June 14at 12:25 p.m. ET, by a Threads account that says it belongs to a Brian Trachtenberg. The caption read, “Houston’s No Kings protest. Important stuff.” The man wore a “No Kings” pin.
In a Facebook postTrachtenberg addressed the claim that this photo showed Boelter. He said he went from “being a lifelong anti-gunner to an avid shooter,” produced a “pro-gun, pro-resistance, pro-Dem” shirt and wore it to Houston’s “No Kings” rally.
“Someone took that pic, said it was a pic of the MN shooter of Dem lawmakers, and launched it far and wide,” Trachtenberg’s post said. “All over the right wing social sphere, I am Vance Boelter, and Lillie Schechter, who has devoted her life to peace, love, and Democracy (and who doesn’t share my views in guns), is his allegedly complicit wife.”
On that day, “No Kings” protests occurred all around the country, coinciding with the military parade in Washington, D.C., on the Army’s 250th anniversary.
The background of the photo matches the exterior of the Houston City Hallwhere that city’s “No Kings” protest took place.
Boelter was arrested on the night of June 15, in Green Isle, Minnesota. In order for this photo to show Boelter, the suspect would have had to have fled Minnesota to Texas during a massive manhunt, made it to Houston in time to join the 10 a.m. CST protest, and then made it back to Minnesota by Sunday night to be located by crawling through a field and detained.
PolitiFact contacted Schechter and Trachtenberg but did not hear back.
We rate the claim this image shows Boelter Pants on Fire!
RELATED: How conservative X accounts promoted wild theory implicating Gov. Tim Walz in lawmaker’s killing
