Woman who threatened Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth sentenced to probation
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
A Washington County judge on Thursday sentenced a woman who made repeated threats of violence against Minnesota’s House Speaker Lisa Demuth to supervised probation and community service.
Rachel Welsch, of Hugo, pleaded guilty in July to one felony count of making threats of violence. She made a series of calls to Demuth, R-Cold Spring, beginning in January and left voicemails insinuating that she would commit violence against her.
Washington County Judge Juanita C. Freeman sentenced Welsch to three years of supervised probation and 180 hours of community service work. She is also barred from contacting Demuth and her staff and possessing firearms during the course of her probation. Welsch also must complete mental health counseling.
The Washington County Attorney’s Office sought longer probation and community service sentences for Welsch. They said given the assassination of former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the attempted assassination of DFL state Sen. John Hoffman and members of his family showed that threats of violence are serious and pose a real danger.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Demuth, now the GOP nominee for governor, told MPR News that she felt the sentence was appropriate. She urged people to avoid making threats when they disagree politically.
“Threats of violence are illegal. You cannot make threats of violence. Whether it's by phone or anything like that, you can't do that,” Demuth said. “I think we have every right to express differences of opinions, but violence and threats of violence have no place in Minnesota or any place else in the political realm or any other.”
She noted that if the threats had come before the assassinations of her legislative colleague, she might not have taken them seriously. Minnesota public safety officials report that threats against elected officials have surged in recent years.
Lawmakers took steps to add safeguards to track and investigate threats and to boost security of elected officials and judges earlier this year.
