Lillie Schechter's husband, Brian Trachtenberg misidentified as Minnesota shooter; issues urgent plea
The real suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, was arrested Sunday night in the woods near his home in Green Isle, Sibley County, in 'the largest manhunt in state history.' Hennepin County authorities say he faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. He is set to appear in court Monday afternoon.
But as law enforcement was closing in on Boelter, MAGA users were spreading a very different and very wrong narrative.
ALSO READ| Who are named in Vance Boelter's manifesto? Shocking list mentions Amy Klobuchar, Kelly Morrison and more
A photo from a political rally in Texas went viral, showing Brian Trachtenberg and his wife, Lillie Schechter, former Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party, Houston, Texas, wearing a 'gun' t-shirt. The image surfaced after a larger thread posted by right-wing author Trisha Hope. In it, MAGA activist 'MAGA Michelle S' falsely identified the man in the picture as Boelter, trying to suggest that the Minnesota shooting suspect had ties to liberal activism.
This claim, however, fell apart almost immediately under scrutiny. Community notes on the platform X (formerly Twitter) quickly corrected the misinformation, clearly stating that the man in the photo is actually Brian Trachtenberg, not Vance Boelter.
'MAGA will believe anything if you just put a caption on a photo, even that a guy who was in Minnesota murdering people was also at a rally in Texas,' a Brooklyn-based attorney posted on X.
'Over the past six months I have changed from being a lifelong anti-gunner to an avid shooter,' Trachtenberg posted on Facebook following the frenzy.
'I produced (with intent to sell), and wore a pro-gun, pro-resistance, pro-Dem (to me, at least) shirt and wore it to Houston's beautiful, non-violent No Kings rally. Some people scowled, and some took pics of me in my tee with joy.'
'Well. Someone took that pic, said it was a pic of the MN shooter of Dem lawmakers, and launched it far and wide. 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,' he clarified.
ALSO READ| Minnesota suspect Vance Boelter's wife, Jenny, was an intern with Tim Walz? Here's the truth
Notably, the MAGA-fueled post remained up for hours, even after the correction, racking up thousands of views and shares.
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