06/24/2025

The MN Shooting Suspect’s Background Suggests Deep Ties to Christian Nationalism

Experts say the suspect showed clear ties to forms of "charismatic Christianity"

The man who prosecutors have charged with assassinating Melissa Hortman, a Democratic Minnesota state representative, her husband, Mark Hortman, and the family dog, Gilbert, once said in a sermon that his religious awakening came when he was 17 years old, working next to a man who "talked about God all of the time" at a vegetable canning factory.

Over the next four decades of alleged shooter Vance Boelter’s life, while working in the food industry, local government, and private security, his religious worldview appeared to incorporate fringe theological ideas that are often associated with so-called charismatic Christianity and Christian Nationalism, a movement that’s captured the American religious right, has been seen as a key driver behind the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and currently enjoys an outsize influence on current Trump administration personnel and policy.

Charismatic Christianity is a broad movement of evangelical Christians who are associated with belief in modern supernatural experiences, like speaking in tongues, divine healing and prophesy. Independent Charismatic Christians seek to exert influence over all aspects of life, from culture to politics. Independent Charismatic Christianity, which encompasses the “NAR,” or New Apostolic Reformation, has been described as the bedrock of Christian nationalism. NAR is an extreme Christian supremacist network that aims to dismantle the secular state, which it sees as demonic, and transform its institutions in accordance with Christian law. Imagine Sharia law with a Christian bent.

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.