Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has revealed she was with Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband the night before they were killed by suspected gunman Vance Luther Boelter in what Minnesota Govenor Tim Walz has called an “act of targeted political violence.”
Senator Klobuchar had dinner with the Minnesota state representative and her husband Mark just hours before the pair were shot to death early Saturday in their home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Speaking to NPR over the weekend, Senator Klobuchar described the slain politician as an “incredible woman”, “strong Speaker” and “a delightful person.”
“We were both moms in politics and campaigning door to door with little kids,” she said. “And I just saw her grow and come into this incredible power that she had and that she used so well for the good of our state and the country.”
The Senator praised Representative Hortman’s several achievements, including her role in negotiating the latest $66 billion two-year budget, as well as her work ushering through free school lunches and expansive paid family leave.
Hortman was first elected to Minnesota’s House of Representatives in 2004. During that time, she was also leading a girl scout troop and teaching Sunday school at a local Catholic church. “That ability to manage with two kids led her to do a really good job managing legislators,” Klobuchar said in another interview. “She was pretty no nonsense. But in a kind way, with a lot of humour.”
Senator Klobuchar expressed a wish for people to “reassess how they act in politics and how they treat each other” in the wake of Hortman’s killing.
“We in Washington, throughout our country…people have to look at the mirror who are engaging in this rhetoric that has inflamed already difficult time in our country, that are posting things on social media that people actually start believing and then acting out on it,” she told NPR, adding that she had signed onto a joint statement that “said we speak with one voice and condemn this politically motivated violence.”
“And I think that has to continue, as well as looking at security for members,” she said.
Asked if the latest shooting would deter her work in office, or that of potential politicians, Senator Klobuchar said she hoped that it doesn’t cause people not to run.
“We need people in office like [Representative Hortman],” she explained. “We need people who are willing to get things done, willing to take tough votes and make decisions that are best for this country and willing to actually bring down the rhetoric. And I’ve made my life’s work of trying to work across the aisle, trying to find common ground, of course, standing my ground, calling people out.”
“But that’s been a big part of what I’ve tried to do, and I’m going to double down on it even more. But finding people who are willing to run is so important. Yes, we need more security, and that’s got to be a priority. But a lot of this is making sure that people who cherish our democracy actually stand up for our democracy and run for office.”
Meanwhile, Vance Boelter has been captured and charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder after what the Brooklyn Park police chief described as the “largest manhunt in the state’s history”.
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