The targeted attacks that left a Minnesota state representative and her husband dead and seriously wounded a state senator and his wife have shaken politicians across the country, and in Colorado.
“Make no mistake, politically motivated violence, assassinations, and attempts on the lives of elected officials are not the America we know, hold dear, and love,” said Gov. Jared Polis in a statement. “We must continue to reject the divisive politics and rhetoric that have become too prevalent in our country.”
Polis called for a full prosecution of anyone involved in the attack and said Colorado is ready to offer any assistance needed to Minnesota.
In his role as the leader of the National Governors Association, Polis, along with his Vice Chair, Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, put out a joint statement, calling on the American people to reject political violence.
“These attacks are not just assaults on individuals, they are attacks (on) our communities, and the very foundation of our democracy.”
Minnesota Democratic Rep. Melissa Hortman, a former state Speaker of the House, and her husband, Mark, were killed in an early morning shooting at their home in a Minneapolis suburb. Investigators believe the same suspect shot Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, at their home nine miles away.
The sentiment that the assassination and the attempted assassination constituted an attack on democracy was echoed by leading Coloradans across the political spectrum.
“This is an unconscionable act of violence,” said Colorado’s Republican House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese in a statement. “There is absolutely no justification for targeted attacks on elected officials—or anyone—based on their political beliefs. Our nation was built on civil discourse and the peaceful exchange of ideas, not horrific acts of violence. We are keeping the families of Rep. Hortman and Senator Hoffman in our prayers.”
“The targeted attacks in Minnesota are a dark example of how violent rhetoric can devolve into violent actions,” said Colorado’s Senate President, James Coleman. “There is room for healthy disagreement and debate, but we must never turn to violence against our political opponents.”
Colorado has seen its share of political violence over the years. In 2013, a parolee with ties to a white supremacist prison gang assassinated Colorado’s chief of prisons on the doorstep of his Monument home. Six years earlier, in 2007, state troopers shot and killed an armed man outside the governor’s office. The man, who declared himself to be “the emperor”, appeared to be in a mental health crisis.
Threats against state lawmakers and other elected officials have become common in recent years. Members of the legislature have been threatened for their support of gun laws and vaccination requirements, for jokes they made on social media and just for being prominent figures in public debates.
Ongoing threats against Secretary of State Jena Griswold for her opposition to President Donald Trump and support for Colorado’s election system led her to seek more security for herself and other statewide elected officials. Last month, a Colorado man was sentenced to three years in prison for threatening Griswold and others.
On social media, Colorado’s Democratic members of Congress used words like “devastated,” “heartbroken,” “terrifying” and “horrified” to describe their response to the Minnesota attacks.
The state’s Republicans also spoke out.
“All politically motivated assassinations or attacks must be condemned,” wrote Rep. Lauren Boebert, the state’s senior Republican member of Congress, on social media. “My family and I are praying for the loved ones of Minnesota State Representatives Hortman and Hoffman during this tragic time. God bless them.”
GOP Reps. Jeff Crank, Jeff Hurd and Gabe Evans alll posted on the social media platform X that they fully condemn the attack and said their prayers are with the lawmakers and their families.
