Minnesota: A Month After Shootings, We’re Normalizing Political Violence | Joshua A. Douglas/Washington Monthly
It’s been a month since the assassinations, yet hardly anyone seems to remember they occurred. On June 14, an assassin murdered the leader of the Minnesota House Democratic Caucus, Melissa Hortman, and her husband in the middle of the night at their home in suburban Minneapolis. The perpetrator also shot and wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Thankfully, Hoffman is now out of the ICU, though he has a long recovery ahead of him. The murderer, Vance Boelter, had a “hit list” of 45 targets, all of whom were Democrats. The politically motivated attack, however, barely made a blip in the national consciousness. People expressed shock the day it happened, but the country swiftly moved on. Similarly, almost no one is still discussing the April break-in and arson of the Pennsylvania Governor’s mansion, with the perpetrator’s goal of beating Governor Josh Shapiro with a hammer. That attack echoed a 2022 incident in which an individual broke into the home of Nancy Pelosi and assaulted her husband with a hammer. In 2020, several men plotted to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to start a civil war; two were convicted. Read Article