{"id":28859,"date":"2025-09-05T15:33:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=28859"},"modified":"2025-09-05T15:33:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:33:55","slug":"crowd-heckles-jd-vance-in-minneapolis-during-church-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/09\/crowd-heckles-jd-vance-in-minneapolis-during-church-tour","title":{"rendered":"Crowd Heckles JD Vance in Minneapolis During Church Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"
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@GrageDustin \/ X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance were in Minneapolis to pay their respects to those impacted by the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church. Protestors, however, were quick to heckle Vance and Republican policies, which they have accused of protecting guns over people\u2019s lives, with some shouting, \u201cDo better\u201d and \u201cprotect kids our kids.\u201d Some even accused the Vice President of being a coward. Others held signs, including one that said, \u201cHate Won\u2019t Make America Great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harry Kaiser, the father of Lydia Kaiser who is still recovering in the hospital, read a letter he had written to the Vice President. \u201cWe disagree about so many things, but on just this one issue of gun violence, will you please promise me \u2014 as a father and a Catholic \u2014 that you will earnestly support the study of what is wrong with our culture?\u201d he asked. \u201cThat we are the country that has the worst mass shooter problem?\u201d Two children, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski were killed in the shooting.<\/p>\n

Vance said the visit, where he spent 45 minutes speaking with the victims\u2019 family members, greatly impacted him. \u201cI have never had a day that will stay with me like this day did. I would just say, take the concerns of these parents seriously,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cI think all of us, Democrat, Republican and independent, want these school shootings to happen less frequently. Hopefully there\u2019s some steps that we can take to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservatives were incensed by the reception Vance received from the protesters. \u201cJ.D. Vance and Usha Vance enter Annunciation Church in Minneapolis. Leftist protestors proceed to shout \u2018You\u2019re a coward\u2019 and \u2018do better\u2019 while flying a rainbow flag,\u201d wrote Dustin Grage on X<\/a>, calling it tone-deaf. The rainbow flag seen at the protest also showed support to transgender identity. The shooter was a 23-year-old who identified as transgender. Conservatives have noted the number of LGBTQ+ identifying shooters than have been involved in mass shootings and are calling for further mental health services for those struggling with their gender identity.<\/p>\n

Vance wrote further thoughts about the visit on X<\/a>, saying he was \u201chonored\u201d to meet with the victims\u2019 families. He also asked for continued prayers for Sophia while she recovers. \u201c[D]on’t give the shooter the attention, but focus on the kids who were taken from us,\u201d he wrote, describing Harper\u2019s smile and Fletcher\u2019s love of football. \u201cYes, they were taken from their families far too soon,\u201d wrote Vance. \u201cBut in their short lives they made a big mark on the many people who loved them. Let’s give them the attention they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance were in Minneapolis to pay their respects to those impacted by the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church. Protestors, however, were quick to heckle Vance and Republican policies, which they have accused of protecting guns over people\u2019s lives, with some shouting, \u201cDo better\u201d and \u201cprotect kids our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":28862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCrowd Heckles JD Vance in Minneapolis During Church Tour<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"VP JD Vance visits Annunciation Church shooting victims\u2019 families in Minneapolis as protesters heckle and parents plead for change.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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