--- title: "Blaine council member's car vandalised with middle-finger photos ahead of Minnesota House bid" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/blaine-council-members-car-vandalised-with-middle-finger-photos-ahead-of-minneso" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/blaine-council-members-car-vandalised-with-middle-finger-photos-ahead-of-minneso" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/blaine-council-members-car-vandalised-with-middle-finger-photos-ahead-of-minneso.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/blaine-council-members-car-vandalised-with-middle-finger-photos-ahead-of-minneso" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-08-17T02:25:20.442Z" source_reported: "2026-08-16T21:18:17.000Z" updated: "2026-08-17T02:25:20.442Z" trust_score: 62 critic_score: 55 hype_score: 30 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-08-17T03:30:56.751066+00:00" --- # Blaine council member's car vandalised with middle-finger photos ahead of Minnesota House bid *Leslie Larson, a Republican candidate, says the incident was caught on camera but police have not confirmed a motive* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 62 of 100, higher is better. Multiple outlets corroborate the vandalism. - Craft 55 of 100, higher is better. Lack of direct quotes and specific details. - Hype 30 of 100, lower is better. Sensational language in some headlines. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - Leslie Larson, a Blaine City Council member and Republican candidate for the Minnesota House, had her car vandalised with middle-finger photos on 17 August 2026. - The incident was recorded on a security camera, showing at least four people involved, some with their faces covered. - Police have not confirmed whether the vandalism was targeted at Larson as a candidate or for other reasons. - No left-rated outlet carried the story, according to the reports below. Leslie Larson, a Blaine City Council member and Republican candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives, reported her car was vandalised in the early hours of 17 August 2026. Security footage showed at least four individuals placing photographs of middle fingers on the vehicle, which was parked in her driveway. Some of the people involved had their faces covered, as reported by KSTP News and Alpha News. Larson shared the incident on social media, calling it "very disturbing" and "unacceptable", according to digests from KARE and KSTP News. The Blaine Police Department has not determined whether the vandalism was politically motivated or targeted at Larson specifically as a candidate. No arrests have been reported. ## What the coverage left out None of the digests from any outlet mentioned whether Larson or the police had identified the individuals involved in the vandalism. No left-rated outlet carried the story at all, according to the reports below. ## Who covered it Shares of the 6 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 0% (0) - Centre: 67% (4) - Right: 33% (2) 0 of 6 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-08-17T03:30:56.751066+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 7 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-08-17T04:00:25.445Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left No separate framing summary. ### Centre - The four centre-rated digests led on the incident as an act of vandalism against a local political figure. WLTX and Fox 9 described the images left on the car as "middle-finger photos" and "offensive images", respectively. KSTP News and KARE included Larson’s own characterisation of the incident as "very disturbing" and "unacceptable". All four digests identified Larson as a Blaine City Council member and Republican candidate for the Minnesota House. - The digests from KSTP News and Fox 9 noted that the incident was caught on camera, while WLTX added that police could not yet confirm whether Larson was targeted as a candidate. None of the centre-rated digests mentioned the political affiliation of the people involved in the vandalism. ### Right - The two right-rated digests framed the incident as an attack on a Republican candidate. Both ussanews.com and Alpha News described Larson as a "GOP House candidate" in their headlines and led with her political affiliation. The digests from both outlets included the detail that the people involved had their faces covered, and Alpha News added that they were seen standing around the vehicle. - Neither of the right-rated digests mentioned whether police had determined a motive for the vandalism. Both described the images left on the car as "pictures of middle fingers" rather than "offensive images" or "vandalism". **Provisional coverage gap:** left. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - low: 2 - high: 4 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [WLTX](https://wltx.com/article/news/nation-world/candidate-minnesota-blaine-city-council-vehicle-vandalized/89-3ebebfc6-d560-4fb2-80b7-c89818ce9054) — Minnesota candidate's car covered in middle-finger photos overnight - [Fox 9](https://fox9.com/news/group-caught-camera-leaving-offensive-images-blaines-council-members-car) — Group caught on camera leaving offensive images on Blaine's council member's car - [KARE](https://kare11.com/article/news/local/candidate-minnesota-blaine-city-council-vehicle-vandalized/89-3ebebfc6-d560-4fb2-80b7-c89818ce9054) — 'It is very disturbing': Candidate for Minnesota House has vehicle vandalized with middle finger photos - [KSTP News](https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/minnesota-house-candidate-shares-video-of-vandals-plastering-her-car-with-middle-finger) — 'Unacceptable': Lawmakers speak out after video captures vandals tampering with candidate's car - [ussanews.com](https://ussanews.com/2026/08/16/very-disturbing-gop-house-candidate-wakes-up-to-find-car-plastered-with-pictures-of-middle-fingers) — ‘Very disturbing’: GOP House candidate wakes up to find car plastered with pictures of middle fingers - [Alpha News](https://alphanews.org/very-disturbing-gop-house-candidate-wakes-up-to-find-car-plastered-with-pictures-of-middle-fingers) — 'Very disturbing': GOP House candidate wakes up to find car plastered with pictures of middle fingers ## Questions **Who is Leslie Larson?** Leslie Larson is a Blaine City Council member and Republican candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives. She reported her car was vandalised with middle-finger photos on 17 August 2026, an incident caught on security camera. **Was the vandalism politically motivated?** Police have not confirmed whether the vandalism was targeted at Leslie Larson as a candidate or for other reasons. The incident occurred ahead of her bid for the Minnesota House, but no motive has been established. **Which outlets covered the story?** Four centre-rated outlets (WLTX, Fox 9, KARE, KSTP News) and two right-rated outlets (ussanews.com, Alpha News) carried the story. No left-rated outlet reported on the incident, according to the digests below. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/blaine-council-members-car-vandalised-with-middle-finger-photos-ahead-of-minneso. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Blaine council member's car vandalised with middle-finger photos ahead of Minnesota House bid", https://mediabias.news/politics/blaine-council-members-car-vandalised-with-middle-finger-photos-ahead-of-minneso