Trump's Trials - Minnesota shootings come during heightened political tensions

Episode Date: June 17, 2025

Federal officials say the suspect in the killings of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband had a much larger list of targets, including Democratic officeholders and abortion rights supporters. NPR's Odette Yousef reports. Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's Trump's Terms from NPR. I'm Scott Detson. We're going to be doing all sorts of things nobody ever thought was even possible. President Trump has brought back strength to the White House. We can't just ignore the president's desires. This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Each episode we bring you NPR's coverage of President Trump acting on his own terms. And that means sometimes doing things that no American president has tried before. NPR is covering it all in stories like the one you are about to

hear right after this. On NPR's Thru Line, the firemen kept shouting to them not to jump, but they had no other choice. Frances Perkins witnessed the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire that changed everything. She was the first woman in a US cabinet, created social security, and the 40-hour work week. The woman behind the New Deal on NPR's ThruLine, wherever you get your podcasts.

Here on The Indicator from Planet Money, we fanned out across the country to ask how you are feeling about the 2025 economy. Anxious. Uncertain. Unfair. Turbulent. Crazy.

We don't just recite the headlines, we show you how the economy is affecting your life in 10 minutes or less. Each weekday, listen to the indicator from Planet Money wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air. Hey, take a break from the 24-hour news cycle with us and listen to long-form interviews with your favorite authors, actors, filmmakers, comedians, and musicians, the people making the art that nourishes us and speaks to our times. So listen to the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY.

I'm Stephen Skippen, Washington, D.C. This is the moment in an investigation when authorities seek a deeper answer as to why. Why a person took beliefs that many people have and converted them into violence. Prosecutors say the man charged with killing a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband had a notebook with other targets, most or all Democrats. The acting US attorney says abortion rights supporters were among those targets and that calls attention to a radical anti-abortion ideology. NPR domestic extremism correspondent Odette Youssef joins

us. Good morning. Good morning. Okay. So what do you know about this man's background that seems like it may be relevant here? Well, one aspect that's getting a lot of attention, Steve, is the religious context that he comes from. I spoke with Fred Clarkson from Political Research Associates about this, and he has homed in on a couple aspects of Vance Belter's background. One is that he graduated from a theological institution called

the Christ for Nations Institute, which is the precursor to something called the New Apostolic Reformation. Belger did missionary work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well. And videos of him sermonizing there show him saying that there will be prophets and apostles in the US, which again is distinct to NAR theology. Pete Okay. So, he went to this earlier version of this theological institute that is now known as New Apostolic Reformation. What more can you say about it? Well, it's a decentralized network of churches and religious leaders who used to really be

on the fringe of the conservative Christian right. But today, prominent figures in the network are closely tied with House Speaker Mike Johnson. They've been featured in prayer events he's organized. This is a neo-charismatic expression of Christianity, Steve, and it's distinct in the sense that it embraces ideas such as modern day prophets and apostles. It also espouses what's called dominionist thinking, where they believe it's important to take control

over every aspect of society to impose Old Testament biblical governance. So Clarkson says it is definitionally an anti-democratic venture. Pete It's just understood that it's going to involve physical warfare. Lauren And the Christ for the Nations Institute issued a statement saying the school is, quote, aghast and horrified that a CFNI alumnus is the suspect and, quote, this is not who we are, this is not what we teach.

Alan And I guess we should emphasize, individuals do things for their own individual reasons. And it's hard to say at this point exactly why the suspect acted this way. But what does this connection to this NAR group mean when it comes to the suspects' views on abortion rights? Danielle Well, this movement considers abortion to be an abomination. But as you said, the question is, how have we come to the point that this is expressed by killing people instead of debating policy? I spoke with Carol Mason at the University of Kentucky. She says over the last several decades, rhetoric about abortion on the right has morphed

into a radicalized ideology. Abortion used to be seen as a sin, like adultery or blasphemy, but over time it became not just a sin, it became evil, until people were convinced that abortion is not simply a matter of terminating a pregnancy, but is actually a full-scale genocidal industry meant to serve an evil, Satanic, global cabal whose mission it is to wipe out Christian civilization. And what's additionally worrying here, Steve, is that we're in a post-Roe era. You know, we heard from opponents of Roe, including President Trump, that overturning

Roe was really about letting states decide abortion policies for themselves. But in fact, there's been an increase in abortion related violence in states that continue to protect access. NPR domestic extremism correspondent Odette Youssef. Thanks so much. Thank you. And before we wrap up, a thank you to our NPR Plus supporters, who hear each show without sponsored messages and of course who help protect independent journalism. If you are not a supporter yet, you can visit plus.npr.org to find out how you can get a ton of podcast perks across dozens of NPR shows, like bonus episodes, exclusive merchandise, and more.

Again, that's plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detro. Thanks for listening to Trump's Terms from NPR.