NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A dark chapter in Minnesota Democratic Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan’s family history has made its way into the race, but it’s unclear whether voters will hold her accountable for the alleged sins of her long-dead grandfather. Earlier this week, Alpha News revealed the troubled mental health history of Flanagan’s grandfather, John Jacob Hartmann, supported by old newspaper accounts and court records. He spent decades in psychiatric custody, escaped twice and was suspected of multiple murders, although he was never charged. The report comes just weeks before the midterm elections, in which Flanagan, the state’s lieutenant governor, faces former television sports reporter Michelle Tafoya in a race to fill the seat of retiring Democrat Tina Smith. Neither Flanagan nor Tafoya have commented publicly on the matter since the decades-old allegations resurfaced. But the strange development has created a stir on social media. Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet highlighted “violent mental illness in the family of Minnesota Democrat Peggy Flanagan,” in an X post, followed by a photo of Flanagan wearing a T-shirt that reads “Protect Trans Kids.” and City Hall columnist Dustin Grage wrote that the report “adds up.” Flanagan has spoken frequently about her upbringing, including being raised by a single mother who relied on SNAP benefits and housing assistance, and the influence of her Native American father, a tribal land rights activist who helped inspire her own advocacy for Native American communities. But a lesser-known part of their family history involves Hartmann, who made headlines in Minneapolis newspapers during the 1970s and early 1970s. 1980s for his stay in psychiatric hospitals, his escapes and accusations that link him to at least four murders, which was brought to light by the Minnesota-based media Alpha News. WARREN RESIDENCE SAGA RETURNS AFTER DEM ALLY CALLS FIRST TO NATIVE SENATE: ‘ARROWS SHOOTING’ Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor and Senate hopeful, is facing backlash for her progressive activism and outreach amid growing fraud controversy in the state. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) Flanagan was three years old when Hartmann died on February 6, 1983. A death notice from the Minnesota Star Tribune named Flanagan’s mother, Patricia Hartmann, and his three sisters, Kathleen, Mary and Margaret, as his surviving daughters. An obituary for Patricia, who died in 2022, listed her maiden name as Hartmann and identified her father as John. In an interview with Minnesota Women’s Press, Flanagan said that both her mother and grandmother were single parents. She described how her grandmother had raised four daughters “at a time when that didn’t happen much.” Flanagan’s mother eventually married Thomas Flanagan, who is identified as Peggy Flanagan’s stepfather in her obituary. In a February 9, 1983 article announcing Hartmann’s death, the newspaper now known as The Minnesota Star Tribune stated that he was committed on November 1, 1951 after his wife filed a petition claiming he was “mentally ill and dangerous.” Their engagement came after the body of a man named Theodore Foth was found burning in his room, although Hartmann was never charged with Foth’s death. The newspaper also named Hartmann as a suspect in the murder of a patient at Minnesota Security Hospital in 1964, but he was never charged. A Minnesota Star Tribune article from February 9, 1983 announcing the death of John Hartmann, maternal grandfather of Peggy Flanagan (Newspapers.com). SLEEPING GOP CANDIDATE PUTS BLUE STATE INTO PLAY AS FRAUD SCANDAL SHADOWS DEMS Hartmann was taken to Anoka State Hospital in 1970, but escaped to New Mexico, where the newspaper reported he was a suspect in the deaths of a man and woman. However, a 1973 Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling does not mention the alleged murder allegations against Hartmann. Instead, the ruling stated that New Mexico authorities detained Hartmann thanks to a warrant issued by Minnesota Probate Judge Melvin Peterson in September 1970. Authorities determined that he was living in the state “without incident and without concealing his identity after his escape in Minnesota.” A special prosecutor later released Hartmann and found that he was “sane and safe to be released.” Hartmann was arrested in Colorado for a misdemeanor the following year and returned to Minnesota. In April 1979, Hartmann failed to return from a visiting pass at the Minnesota Security Hospital and fled to Missouri, where he allegedly threatened U.S. District Judge Miles Welton Lord during a telephone call. Lord presided over Hartmann’s earlier federal challenge over his involuntary return from Colorado to Minnesota and initially dismissed claims against several Minnesota officials. Hartmann was charged by federal authorities for the alleged threat, according to a Star Tribune article from 1979. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital has reached out to the Flanagan campaign for comment. Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.
