Report Ties Peggy Flanagan’s Grandfather to 4 Killings Weeks Before Nov. 2026 Senate Vote
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 18
Report Ties Peggy Flanagan’s Grandfather to 4 Killings Weeks Before Nov. 2026 Senate Vote
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 18
Summary
Alpha News reported that Peggy Flanagan’s maternal grandfather, John Jacob Hartmann, spent decades in psychiatric custody, escaped twice and was linked in old records to at least four killings, though he was never charged.
Court records and newspaper archives cited in the report say Hartmann was committed in 1951 as “mentally ill and dangerous,” was suspected in a 1964 killing at Minnesota Security Hospital, and later fled to New Mexico and Missouri.
The allegations surfaced weeks before the election for retiring Sen. Tina Smith’s seat, where Flanagan—Minnesota’s lieutenant governor—faces Republican Michele Tafoya in a closely watched Senate race.
Neither Flanagan nor Tafoya has commented publicly, but the story quickly spread on social media, where conservative activists used it to attack Flanagan’s progressive image and campaign message.
The episode injects a decades-old family history into a race already shaped by scrutiny of Flanagan’s activism, raising the question of whether voters will treat her grandfather’s past as politically relevant.