Press Release: 6/16/2025

Statement on Shooting of Two Minnesota Lawmakers

 

Published: Jun 14, 2025

"We are completely heartbroken about the senseless political violence against Senator Hoffman and Speaker Emerita Hortman, and their spouses. These two respected public servants demonstrated the best of us."

Overnight, in a targeted act of political violence, two Minnesota state lawmakers, Sen. John Hoffman and Rep. Melissa Hortman, and their spouses, were shot by someone impersonating law enforcement. Rep. Hortman and her husband were killed, and Sen. Hoffman and his wife are in recovery.  

Statement of Common Cause Minnesota Executive Director Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera 

We are completely heartbroken about the senseless political violence against Senator Hoffman and Speaker Emerita Hortman, and their spouses. These two respected public servants demonstrated the best of us, going to work every day on behalf of their constituents —to better our lives, our neighborhoods, and our families.   

Speaker Emerita Hortman was a pro-democracy champion. Her legacy of over 20 years of public service at our capitol embodies political courage, conviction, and an unwavering commitment to serving Minnesotans. We honor her not just for the office she held, but for the values she lived.  

We call on all our state leaders to condemn this act of violence immediately. A hallmark of our democracy is the ability to disagree and wrestle with our disagreements through the legislative and judicial processes without being subject to political violence. No public servant, or their families, should ever experience what we are experiencing here in Minnesota. We will continue to fight for our vision of a safe, multi-racial democracy in the Star of the North and beyond.  

Statement of Common Cause President & CEO Virginia Kase Solomón 

Common Cause unequivocally condemns today’s acts of violence targeting two public servants and their families. Our hearts are with the people of Minnesota and Senator Hoffman and Representative Hortman’s families and loved ones. This was a targeted attack against elected representatives, and it must not be normalized or tolerated in our country. 

While we do not know the motive at this time, we do know America has been on edge this week, and everyone deserves the right to feel safe in their communities, whether they are elected leaders, law enforcement, or immigrants.  We cannot continue to go down the path of increased division and hatred. Political violence is destroying our communities and our faith in one another.  

We need all our political leaders from Minnesota to Washington—including the President—to unequivocally condemn this violence and call for it to stop.  

Let today’s community rallies celebrating what is great about this country be a moment for us to come together, to put partisanship aside, and remember that our core values that unite us are far greater than anything that can divide us.