Tears as hundreds attend candlelit vigil honouring Minnesota politician and husband gunned down in their home
19 June 2025, 11:25
Hundreds of people gathered outside Minnesota's Capitol for a vigil to remember a prominent state politician and her husband who were gunned down at their home.
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As a brass quintet from the Minnesota Orchestra played, Governor Tim Walz wiped away tears and comforted attendees at the gathering for former House speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were killed early on Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs.
Colin Hortman, the Hortmans' son, embraced Mr Walz and laid a photo of his parents on a memorial.
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The memorial, which sprang up outside the Capitol after the killings, features flowers, American flags, photos and sticky notes with such messages as "Thank you for always believing in me and in Minnesota" and "We got this from here. Thank you for everything".
The vigil also included a Native American drum circle, a string quartet and the crowd singing Amazing Grace.
Around the gathering, there was a heavy police presence, with law enforcement blocking off streets leading up to the Capitol and state troopers standing guard.
The event did not include any speeches and attendees were instructed not to bring signs of any kind.
Vance Boelter, the man charged in federal and state court with killing the Hortmans, is also accused of shooting another Democratic lawmaker, Senator John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, at their home a few miles away in Champlin. They survived and are recovering.
Boelter's attorneys have declined to comment on the charges.
Mrs Hortman had served as the top House Democratic leader since 2017, and six years as speaker, starting in 2019.
Under a power-sharing deal after the 2024 election left the House tied, her title became speaker emerita and Republican representative Lisa Demuth became speaker.
Mr Walz has described her as his closest political ally and "the most consequential speaker in state history".
The Hortmans were alumni of the University of Minnesota, which held a memorial gathering on the Minneapolis campus.
Rebecca Cunningham, the university's president, spoke during the event about the grief and outrage people are grappling with along with questions about how things got to this point.
"I don't have the answers to these questions but I know that finding answers starts with the coming together in community as we are today," she said.
Funeral information for the Hortmans has not yet been announced.