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A photo of a smiling Melissa Hortman sits atop the late lawmaker’s desk in the Minnesota House of Representatives, alongside a bouquet of red roses and a gavel. Hortman’s image greets all those who walk into the chamber or gaze in through its gates.
In the aftermath of Hortman’s killing, House staff put up the tribute to the longtime lawmaker and former House speaker. Her colleagues, friends and some strangers filled the chamber’s entryway with signs, photos, flowers and stuffed animals meant to honor Hortman, her husband, Mark, and their golden retriever, Gilbert.
They were assassinated at their home six months ago. A floor below, an ornament dedicated to them hangs on the Capitol Christmas tree.
While the holiday ornament and Hortman’s name on the voting board will eventually come down, the memorial in the chamber will remain in place through 2026. It’s meant as a reminder of the lawmaker who routinely encouraged colleagues to disagree without being disagreeable.
“I think every day, when we walk into this chamber, we’re going to be reminded of what we’ve lost,” said Rep. Zack Stephenson, the DFLer elevated to succeed his mentor as caucus leader. “It’s also a good reminder of the importance of trying to tone down the rhetoric, right? Political violence is unacceptable.”
The move to bring down the temperature comes as Minnesota law enforcement have tracked more than twice as many threats against state officials compared to last year. Fifty-eight credible threats had been lodged so far, as of November.
Both chambers of the Legislature set aside money for lawmakers to install security systems in their homes. Each legislator can tap up to $4,500. A new threat investigator position was created. The state’s campaign finance board also allowed candidates to use campaign money to pay for security.
The same day the Hortmans were killed, Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot at their Champlin home by a man who authorities allege is the same suspect in the Hortman killings. The Hoffmans were severely wounded but survived and are recovering.
“We’ve always had that level of comfort and security, and we felt safe in that,” House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said in an interview with MPR News. “June 14 changed everyone in our state, especially elected officials at all levels.”
Demuth and Stephenson agreed to keep the tribute to Hortman, saying it was important to keep the tribute in place when they return in February. House Chief Clerk Patrick Murphy set up the display at Hortman’s desk and suggested that legislators maintain it through the end of 2026.
Demuth said it is “an appropriate way to honor her memory and still allow us to do the work.”
She adds, “And it just seems like the right thing to do.”
Officials in California, Ohio, Arizona and other states have also made that change since Minnesota tragedy. Like Minnesota, more states have removed lawmakers’ addresses from public websites.
“That heightened sense of the need for security and increased security is very much there,” Demuth said.
Minnesota is not alone in seeing threats and incidents rise. Instances of political violence affecting both parties have jumped in 2025.
Political commentator Charlie Kirk was killed this summer, and an arsonist set a room in the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion ablaze with Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family inside the house. State lawmakers in Indiana were targeted in a swatting attack after they shared their stances on redistricting. The list goes on.
And the heated rhetoric shows no sign of abating. Last month, President Donald Trump lashed out at lawmakers questioning his use of the military. Trump accused them of sedition and noted that it can be punishable by death. The White House later said the president does not want to execute lawmakers.
“We’ve seen this unfortunately become a slightly normalized thing,” said William Braniff, executive director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab at American University.
“This definitely gets back to the idea of dehumanizing political rhetoric that says that these other people. They don’t just disagree with you know you on policy. They’re a threat to your way of life. They’re a threat to your family or your community, that they’re not viable partners in compromise or debate.”
Braniff said that’s led to more threats and instances of violence as people take matters into their own hands. Braniff said there need to be more resources dedicated to countering potentially violent actors. And Americans need to be willing to take steps on their own to turn the temperature down.
“Norms shape behaviors, and we’re allowing some really, really lousy norms to shape our individual behaviors, and we don’t realize we’re going along for the ride and actually contributing to it,” he said. “I think that there are real interventions that we can do to try to clean the air in this toxic information environment, but ultimately, people have to decide they don't want to live in a polarized toxic environment.”
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has experienced the impacts of the polarized political climate firsthand. An Illinois man threatened her life earlier this year. He now faces charges.
Flanagan leads the state Capitol security board, which is weighing additional safety measures — like weapons detection technology and more security officers on the ground — ahead of the 2026 legislative session.
“We don't want to get on to, you know, business as usual, because what we've been through isn't normal and shouldn't be normalized,” Flanagan said.
Flanagan, a Democrat now running for the U.S. Senate, said she hopes the board can deliver recommendations to the Legislature that make the building safer. But she said there are less formal moves lawmakers can make to improve the climate.
“Every opportunity we have, I think, to lean into demonstrating that we see the humanity, dignity in another person, that we are respectful, we should do that,” Flanagan said. “Because the temperature certainly is higher than it has ever been, and we should do everything we can to avoid throwing gasoline on that fire.”
The board is due to deliver its recommendations within weeks, before lawmakers return to St. Paul in February.
Even if they can’t reach consensus, Stephenson hopes Hortman’s photo will remind his colleagues to ratchet down the rhetoric.
“I really do hope that having to walk past that every day will make people think twice before they escalate,” Stephenson said. “And I think that she would really like that. She would really like that if one of the durable legacies that she leaves is turning down to the temperature a bit.”
Correction (Dec. 12, 2025): In an earlier version of this story, a photo caption misspelled Tom Weber’s last name.
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