Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) deleted a series of tweets on Tuesday that promoted unfounded conspiracy theories about the man suspected in the deadly shooting of two Minnesota Democrats and their spouses. Sen.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) finally bowed to pressure on Tuesday and removed social media posts in which he appeared to mock the murder of a prominent Minnesota Democrat and her husband and the wounding of another state Democrat and his wife.

When there’s political violence in western democracies it’s traditionally treated as a somber event for everyone to come together. That’s disappeared. The victims were gunned down just over a day ago and a US Senator is mocking the event and hinting at a deranged conspiracy. https://t.co/EO7pbWI8ng

Lee has been embroiled in controversy after posting a response to the assassination of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman over the weekend. During his monologue Monday night, Stewart recounted his own experience with the GOP Republican.

His social media posts resemble those of a frequent user on right-wing message boards rather than those of a U.S. senator.

If there was a telling recent moment when it comes to how ugly our political discourse has become, it might well have been the brutal 2022 hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul.