A Hugo woman is facing a felony charge in Washington County District Court after authorities say she left a series of increasingly threatening voicemails for Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth. According to court records, the calls started in January and stretched into February. The defendant was arrested, released on a $20,000 bond, and is scheduled to return to court on April 7.
Complaint Alleges Repeated, Escalating Voicemails
The felony complaint identifies 42-year-old Rachel Marie Welsch and alleges she left multiple threatening messages with Demuth’s office and also targeted a second legislator. The court issued emergency harassment restraining orders for Demuth and state Rep. Patti Anderson. After state troopers learned of the calls, they went to Welsch’s home, where she acknowledged leaving the messages, according to the complaint. Demuth’s office declined to comment, as reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune.
The complaint lays out several explicit threats. In a Jan. 1 voicemail, Welsch allegedly warned, “wherever you are, you should be wondering when we are going to come,” and on Jan. 8, she allegedly asked, “and what do we do to traitors?” A Feb. 24 message stated she was “learning how to shoot, and I’m getting really good,” according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Charges Land Amid Lingering Security Concerns
The case comes fewer than nine months after the June 14, 2025, shootings that killed DFL Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband in Brooklyn Park, an attack that triggered a statewide manhunt and led to heightened security for elected officials. Authorities later arrested a suspect in that case, and the episode has reshaped how lawmakers and law enforcement respond to threats involving public figures, according to reporting by AP.
Legal Stakes And Next Steps
Under Minnesota law, serious threats of violence are treated as a felony. Minn. Stat. § 609.713 provides that a person who threatens to commit a crime of violence with the purpose to terrorize, or in reckless disregard of causing such terror, can face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Welsch’s case remains in its early stages, and the complaint is only an allegation. She is presumed innocent while the court process plays out (see Minnesota statutes, §609.713).
