Updated June 28, 2025 at 4:20 PM CDT
Mourners gathered on Saturday for the funeral of Melissa Hortman, the Minnesota lawmaker who was slain in a display of political violence that shocked the nation.
Hortman, a former Democratic speaker of the Minnesota House, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park, Minn., home earlier this month in what law enforcement says was part of a planned string of attacks against dozens of state Democratic elected officials. The family dog, a golden retriever named Gilbert, was also gravely injured in the attacks and was later euthanized.
The service was attended by family and friends of the couple and a number of high-profile Democrats, including former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Minn. Gov. Tim Walz, who delivered remarks.
The day prior to the funeral, the Hortmans and Gilbert lay in state at the Minnesota Capitol for members of the public to pay their respects.
Thousands of supporters queued for a chance to mourn the three at the Capitol building, including Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who said in a statement on Saturday that she was not able to attend the funeral due to a potential vote on the Senate budget bill, but that she would watch the service remotely.
"I join the state and the country in honoring our beloved friends Melissa and Mark Hortman," Klobuchar said. "In speaking with their children Sophie and Colin yesterday at the Minnesota Capitol, I know that Melissa and Mark's legacy of goodness and service to others is in the best of hands."
At the funeral service, the Hortmans were remembered as a force of good in their community. And Melissa Hortman was praised by Walz as "the most consequential speaker in Minnesota history" and the "most talented legislator" he had ever known.
"Maybe it is this a moment when each of us can examine the way we work together, the way we talk about each other, the way we fight for the things we care about," Walz said.
"A moment when each of us can recommit to engaging in politics and life the way Mark and Melissa did — fiercely, enthusiastically, heartily, but without ever losing sight of our common humanity," he continued. "But let's not do it because of the way Mark and Melissa died. Let's do it because of the way they lived, and the way they led."
Also amid the attack that killed the Hortmans, Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot at their Champlin, Minn., home just miles away by the same suspected gunman, but the pair survived, despite sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.
The man accused of carrying out the killings, Vance Boelter, has been charged with stalking and murdering the Hortmans, and stalking and shooting the Hoffmans. Boetler is being held in federal custody.
In a statement on Thursday, Boelter's wife, Jenny, sent her condolences on behalf of herself and her children to the Hortman and Hoffman families.
"We are absolutely shocked, heartbroken and completely blindsided. This violence does not at all align with our beliefs as a family," Jenny Boelter said in a statement through her attorney.
"It is a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenets of our Christian faith," she said.
Hortman's assassination is one of the latest attacks on political figures in recent years. In April, Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's mansion was set ablaze while he and his family slept inside.
Last summer, President Trump was the target of two apparent assassination attempts during his run for the White House.
Research shows that Americans are more polarized today than they have been in decades, and threats against members of Congress have seen a spike.
To honor the Hortmans' legacy, the couple's two children, Sophie and Colin, suggested the community connect more with the people around them.
"The best way to honor our parents' memory is to do something, whether big or small, to make our community just a little better for someone else," they said.
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