Peggy Flanagan's grandfather escaped psychiatric custody twice: report

Key Points:

• Minnesota Democratic Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan faces scrutiny over her late grandfather John Jacob Hartmann's troubled history, including decades in psychiatric custody and suspicions of multiple killings, though he was never charged.
• The revelations emerged weeks before the midterm elections, where Flanagan is competing against Michelle Tafoya to fill retiring Senator Tina Smith's seat, sparking social media attention but no public comments from either candidate.
• Hartmann's history includes psychiatric commitments starting in 1951 after being deemed "mentally ill and dangerous," escapes from hospitals, and suspicions of involvement in several deaths across Minnesota and New Mexico, though legal proceedings did not result in charges.
• Flanagan has publicly shared her upbringing by a single mother and the influence of her indigenous father but has not addressed the allegations tied to her grandfather, who died when she was three years old.
• Fox News Digital sought comment from Flanagan's campaign regarding the resurfaced family history, but no response was reported at the time of publication.