The Republican senator from Utah suggested in social media posts that the killings were the work of “Marxists,” and mocked Minnesota’s Democratic governor. He later issued a more sober condemnation of the violence.

Deluged with criticism over social media posts that spread misinformation in the aftermath of the shootings of two Democratic Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses, Utah Sen. Mike Lee deleted a handful of his online comments — but not all.

Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah has come under heavy fire following comments made in the wake of fatal shootings in Minnesota. On 15 June, Lee described the suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, as a 'Marxist' in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter),