Local elected officials on Saturday condemned the shootings in Minnesota that left a state legislator and her husband dead and another wounded.
California state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-Santee) issued a joint statement with Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-North Coast), saying “the shocking and tragic assassination and targeted political violence in Minnesota are sickening.
“The immutable truth is that there is no place for political violence in a democracy – none. No cause, no grievance, no election justifies the use of fear or force against our fellow human beings,” they said. “Let us never forget – we’re Americans first and we’re better than this. This nation must choose a different path.”
State Rep. Melissa Hortman, 55, the House’s Democratic leader and former speaker, was shot to death early Saturday in her Minneapolis-area home, along with her husband, by someone posing as a law enforcement officer.
Another prominent area lawmaker, state Sen. John Hoffman, was shot and wounded, along with his wife, in their home about 15 minutes away, Gov. Tim Walz described the attacks as “targeted political violence.”
Like Jones and McGuire, other officials pointed to the spectre of violence aimed at those who hold office.
Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, said he was “horrified” by the shootings in a post on X, adding that “political violence has no place in America.”
His colleague, Rep. Mike Levin, a Democrat who represents parts of San Diego and Orange counties, said, “We’re a nation on edge. Violence is never the answer.”
“Political violence is unacceptable and a threat to our democracy,” another San Diego Democrat, Rep. Scott Peters, posted. “Every American must condemn this horrific act.”
Awaiting the start of the “No Kings” march downtown, Vargas said people don’t understand “we get death threats all the time.”
In fact, he said: “A couple people were convicted when they threatened to kill me. But we don’t advertise it because we don’t want others to be copycats.”
Rep. Sara Jacobs, also attending the Waterfront Park event Saturday, said she’s been thinking a lot about how ICE agents show up with their faces masked and refuse to show ID.
This, she said, “just leads to an environment where [shootings like] this are more likely to happen, where people are going to impersonate our law enforcement and do horrible things.”
“And that’s why I think it’s so important that we all stand up and make our voices heard — that we don’t let them challenge us. And that we’re not going to stand for this kind of political violence in our country.”
Asked if she were afraid of showing up for the bayside event, Jacobs said: “I’m not. I trust our community here in San Diego.”
BREAKING: A Minnesota state representative and her husband were shot and killed and a Minnesota state senator and his wife were shot and wounded in an “act of targeted political violence” at their homes early Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz said.
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— ABC News (@ABC) June 14, 2025
On X, Gov. Gavin Newsom added: “We pray for their families. We grieve with Minnesota. We call for peace in our politics,”
The shooting shocked officials in both parties in a Minnesota, a state that prides its politics as being “Minnesota nice,” despite higher partisan tensions in recent years. While Minnesota hasn’t voted for a GOP presidential candidate since 1972, and all of its statewide elected officials are Democrats. The Legislature is nearly evenly divided.
Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, named the suspect at an afternoon news conference. Authorities continue to look for 57-year-old Vance Boelter and he had not yet been caught.
Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, state records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other.
A Minnesota official told The Associated Press that the suspect’s writings also contained information targeting prominent lawmakers who have been outspoken in favor of abortion rights.
The early morning attacks prompted warnings to other Minnesota elected officials and the cancellation of planned “No Kings” demonstrations against President Donald Trump. Authorities said the suspect had “No Kings” flyers in his car.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Updated at 5:30 p.m. June 14, 2025
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
