Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar ate dinner with Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman just hours before she and her husband, Mark, were gunned down in their home in Brooklyn Park, near Minneapolis, on Saturday, according to reports.
Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, said she was informed of the assassination around 5 a.m. Saturday morning in a phone call from Gov. Tim Walz.
“I wish everyone had known her like we knew her,” Klobuchar told Politico. “I was there when she was doorknocking in the beginning. … I was in county office and she was seeking the legislative office. She was pretty no-nonsense. But in a kind way, with a lot of humor.”
Rep. Hortman, who served as state speaker from 2019 until January 2025, was killed alongside her husband early Saturday in what officials describe as “a politically motivated assassination.”
The suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, disguised himself as a police officer during the attack, according to authorities. Walz once appointed him to a state board.
Boelter left behind a manifesto that named 70 politicians, including Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and members of the state’s congressional delegation.
Klobuchar stated that she was not informed that she was a potential target
Additionally, the alleged assassin had “No Kings” flyers in his vehicle, referring to protests against President Trump that took place across the country on Saturday. Reports say that he was captured Sunday evening.
He is also accused of shooting Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home the same evening, though they survived.
“After a two-day manhunt and two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended Vance Boelter,” Walz said during a press briefing.
In 2004, Amy Klobuchar was five years into her role as Hennepin County Attorney when Melissa Hortman began her tenure in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Around that time, Klobuchar recalled, Hortman was balancing her responsibilities as a newly elected lawmaker with teaching Sunday school and leading a Girl Scout troop, the New York Post reported.
That ability to juggle responsibilities while raising two children helped make her “a really good job managing legislators,” Klobuchar told Politico.
Klobuchar also recalled how Hortman once turned off the mute button that her predecessor had used to silence other lawmakers, signaling a more open and inclusive approach to leadership.
“She’s like ‘I don’t need that. I can use the gavel,’” Klobuchar recalled. “She was just such a skilled legislator at bringing people together.”
Klobuchar expressed hope that rising political violence won’t discourage good individuals from running for office.
“I hope good people still run or our democracy won’t stand,” she told the outlet.
“This has gotten totally out of hand,” Klobuchar told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “With threats against members of Congress in 2016, there were like 1,700 of them. Last year, over 9,000 of them.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for increased security measures for Senator Amy Klobuchar and fellow retiring Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) following the tragic assassination.
“I asked Capitol Police—as I did earlier this week for Senator Padilla—to immediately increase security for both senators. I thank the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police for increasing security for all three,” Schumer announced Saturday.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was taken to the ground and handcuffed by DHS security personnel after charged into a press conference being held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles last week. Initially, Padilla, who was approaching Noem and shouting questions, did not identify himself, but, per video of the incident, he eventually did.
However, given what happened to Hortman, Hoffman, and their spouses — and noting the increase in violence against federal immigration officers — supporters of the DHS officers’ actions say they were justified
