The shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses this past weekend are the latest instances of political violence that has risen across the U.S. in recent years.
Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed on Saturday by a man who authorities say was impersonating a police officer. The same shooter attacked Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who have been hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds. Authorities apprehended and are charging Vance Boelter, 57, in connection with both shootings. Boelter is facing federal murder charges that carry the possibility of the death penalty, in addition to state charges.
The attacks come as U.S. lawmakers face a rising threat of political violence. Members of Congress and state and local officials have been targeted in multiple high-profile violent incidents in recent years, including the 2011 shooting of then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, the 2017 shooting at a Congressional baseball practice that left Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and several other people injured, and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Though no lawmakers were wounded in that instance, more than 100 people were injured amid the storming of the building and at least seven deaths were tied to the attack, according to a bipartisan Senate report.
The number of concerning statements and direct threats against members of Congress—including their families and staff—investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police has increased markedly within the past seven years, jumping from 3,939 in 2017 to 9,625 in 2021, according to the agency.
And the past year has seen another spike. The Capitol Police investigated 9,474 direct threats and concerning statements in 2024, up from 8,008 the previous year. Reuters identified at least 51 incidents of political violence from January to October last year in the lead-up to the 2024 election, among 300 it had recorded since the Jan. 6 attack up to that point. The news outlet reported “the cases are part of the biggest and most sustained increase in U.S. political violence since the 1970s.”
Reprinted from Time Magazine
