Political leaders across the spectrum and across the country have gently called out after one Minnesota Senator was killed and another was killed in an apparent politically motivated shooting on Saturday.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz and state law enforcement officials said Saturday that former state leader Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, while state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were seriously injured in a shooting that the governor dubbed “a politically motivated assassination.”
The violence in Minnesota is just the latest incident in a politically fueled attack in the US in recent weeks. This includes staff at the Israeli Embassy who were shot in Washington earlier this month.
In response to Saturday’s shooting, state legislators on both parties issued a call to be calm and end further violence.
California Democratic Congressional Speaker Robert Rivas and Republican minority leader James Gallagher issued a rare joint statement Saturday afternoon saying they were “standing together by denounceing it on the strongest possible terms.”
“As leaders on both sides of the aisle, we call on everyone to lower temperatures, respect differences and work towards peace in society,” their statement read.
They were followed by California Senator leader, Democratic Senate Speaker Mike McGuire, and Republican Senate leader Brian Jones, leader of the Republican Senate minority leader.
Delegations across Minnesota, including Democrats Sen. Tina Smith and Amy Klobucher, as well as Republican Rep. Tom Emmer and House GOP Whip, issued a joint statement denounced the attack.
“Today, we speak in one voice to express the rage, sadness and condemnation of this horrific attack on civil servants. There is no democracy against politically motivated violence,” they said.
Saturday’s shootings rattle politicians from both parties who have seen an increase in threats and violence directed at them over the past few years.
This is especially serious for state elected officials. Members of Congress have long said they don’t have the right security resources as they face an increasingly threatening environment, and Capitol Police regularly warn them of rising risk for lawmakers. But that is especially true for state legislators. State lawmakers work part-time with little or no official security provided by the job.
“None of us as we run for public office have signed up for this,” Virginia Sen. Scott Sluvell, a Democrat, said in a statement after the shooting. “We sign up to serve our community, discuss policies and work on behalf of our constituents, not to be threatened by political extremists.”
Following the shooting, Waltz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, urged Minnesotans not to attend the protest planned in the state on Saturday – serving as a countermeasure to Washington’s President Donald Trump’s military parade.
In another statement, he said political violence must end. “We are not a country that solves differences at muzzle,” he said. “We have demonstrated over and over again that it is possible to peacefully oppose it in our state.
The call quickly reverberated across many of Waltz’s governor’s colleagues across the country.
“These attacks are not just attacks on individuals, but attacks on our communities, and the very foundation of democracy,” said Colorado Governor Jared Police and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Democrats and Republicans, and the chairman and vice-chairman of the National Association of Governors. “More than ever, we must come together as a nation and ensure that our public squares are not dangerous but a place of discussion.”
