Woman accused of making numerous threats to harm Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth

Paul Walsh, Star Tribune on Mar 2, 2026

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Minnesota House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth has been the target of increasingly threatening phone messages at her office from a woman who was undaunted even after law enforcement confronted her, according to charges.

The felony case filed on Feb. 26 in Washington County District Court against Rachel Marie Welsch, 42, of Hugo, Minnesota, comes fewer than nine months after the assassination of House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband at their Brooklyn Park home.

Welsch was arrested, appeared in court and released from jail after posting a $20,000 bond. Court records do not list an attorney for her. The Minnesota Star Tribune has reached out to Welsch for a response to the allegations. Her next hearing is scheduled for April 7.

Demuth’s office declined to comment about the case.

The criminal complaint alleged that Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and a second state legislator were targeted by Welsch. While the complaint only addresses the calls to the speaker, emergency harassment restraining orders were granted by the court for Demuth and fellow Republican state Rep. Patti Anderson, whose district includes the city where Welsch lives.

Demuth’s office declined to comment about the case. However, in her petition seeking a protection order, Demuth explained that the calls have created distress and safety concerns for her and her family. She noted that she has taken added security precautions at her home and changed up her daily routine.

The alleged threats against Demuth spanned much of January and February. The complaint noted that “the early messages were angry in tone and content, but the threatening nature of the messages escalated over time.”

On June 14, Hortman and husband Mark were gunned down in their home on the same day that DFL state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot in their home in Champlin. Vance Boelter was arrested that same weekend on charges of carrying out both shootings and remains jailed on federal murder and attempted murder counts.

The case involving Demuth and Anderson is the latest evidence of a yearslong surge of threats expressed or carried out against elected officials in America. Just five weeks ago, a 55-year-old man was charged with spraying Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar with vinegar as she spoke at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis and earlier wishing someone would kill her.

According to the complaint against Welsch:

On Jan. 1, Welsch’s first message said she intended to meet Demuth “wherever you are, you should be wondering when we are going to come.” She followed up the same day by expressing anger about federal funding under threat of being cut and called Demuth a “racist piece of (expletive),” and pledged to find the speaker.

State troopers went to Welsch’s home that next day, and she acknowledged leaving the messages.

Welsch continued leaving voicemail messages at Demuth’s office, at one point demanding that federal immigration enforcement officials leave the state.

On Jan. 8, one day after a federal agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis, Welsch left a voicemail at Demuth’s office that branded the speaker as a traitor, “and what do we do to traitors?”

About a month later, another message from Welsch warned that “you are going to fall. And I will be there, I’ll be at the end of that barrel.”

As recently as Feb. 24, a voicemail message from Welsch suggested she would find Demuth while she was out campaigning for governor and was “learning how to shoot, and I’m getting really good.”

Alarmed by the June attacks on their colleagues at their homes, Minnesota lawmakers are seeking to protect themselves and future legislators.

In their first week back in St. Paul for the current session, there appears to be bipartisan support for proposals to shield legislators’ personal data and require law enforcement agencies to have a safety protocol for elected officials.

Rep. Mike Freiberg, DFL-Golden Valley, said many of his House colleagues are concerned about their personal information being public. Boelter allegedly carried a list with some lawmakers’ names and home addresses on it, including Hortman’s.

Freiberg’s proposal would additionally create a legislative task force to consider further privacy protections for government officials. He is also sponsoring a bill to remove legislators’ addresses from state Campaign Finance Board listings.

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