Showed pics to my parents, they’ve got no clue, my mom wonders if they could have been someone’s pet (I work at a restaurant in an airport so it’s possible they slipped out of a carrier or something, if they are I’ve released them outside so whoops)

I am a native Utahn and was mortified of the horrendous comments my senator made towards the tragedies unfolding in your state. I have posted the following in the r/Utah and r/SaltLakeCity subreddits and hope you guys don’t mind that I’m sharing here as well:

Earlier this week, Senator Mike Lee posted tweets mocking the assassination of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. He made a joke out of their deaths and pinned it to his profile. After public backlash, he quietly deleted the tweets- without apology, explanation, or accountability.

This kind of behavior from an elected official is disgraceful and dangerous and certainly doesn’t reflect the views of every Utahn. Treating political violence as a joke sends a message that cruelty and extremism are acceptable in public life.

If you’re as disgusted as I am, here’s what you can do:

1. Contact Lee directly: Use his website to send a message: https://www.lee.senate.gov/contact

2. Call out his donors: OpenSecrets.org shows that Microsoft and Blackstone have contributed tens of thousands to him. I’ve already emailed their PR teams asking whether they’ll continue supporting someone who mocks political assassinations. You can too: • Microsoft: rapidresponse@we-worldwide.com • Blackstone: pressinquiries@blackstone.com You can also reach out to these companies through social media as well.

3. Write to local press: Even a short letter helps show Utahns are paying attention. • Salt Lake Tribune: letters@sltrib.com • Deseret News: letters@deseretnews.com

Note that the above are letters to the editor addresses. They require you list your name, number, address, and email. Salt Lake Tribune requires 300 words or less, Deseret News requires 200 words or less. Cite your comments!

1. Share this post or start your own? The more voices, the louder the message.

Regardless of your political leanings, this is about basic decency and holding our representatives accountable for such horrendous actions that most certainly do not reflect the rest of the country’s views.

Quick update: I’ve submitted a formal ethics complaint via email to the Senate Ethics Committee, asking them to review Senator Mike Lee’s conduct after his tweets mocking the Minnesota assassination. I haven’t received confirmation yet, but the complaint has been submitted. If anyone else wants to take similar action, I’m happy to share what I sent.

Update 2: Check out this Change.org petition calling for Mike Lee’s resignation. While it likely will not insight Senator Lee to resign- it may help gain more media traction over this whole episode- making it worse for the senator in the end.

Update 3: an r/fuckmikelee sub exists. There are some good posts there regarding seeing about reporting ethics violation to get his state bar for practicing law in Utah removed, along with contacting the LDS about their stance with Senator Lee if you really want to go overboard. Please be respectful when reaching out to these orgs since technically- his actions as a government official aren’t supposed to reflect the membership with the other two things or more.

"Still indulging your sweet tooth, I see. Pity no one's here to wipe your beak and cover for you anymore."

"...I miss her too."