After Minnesota shooting, some states are more tightly guarding officials' personal information
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawmakers in some states are moving to delete their home addresses from online directories and Wisconsin legislators are seeking added security for a session this week after one Minnesota legislator was killed and another wounded in their suburban Minneapolis homes last weekend in what Gov. Tim Walz described as a targeted political attack.
Vance Boelter is in federal custody facing murder and stalking charges in the shooting death of former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Authorities say he also shot and wounded Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. Boelter, 57, also faces state murder charges.
Authorities said Boelter had a list of dozens of state and federal elected officials in Minnesota and meticulous notes on the homes and people he targeted early Saturday. He also stopped by the homes of two other legislators that night, according to police. Authorities say he found their addresses in a variety of internet searches. The Minnesota Legislature's website lists the addresses of members' offices in the state capital of St. Paul, not their home addresses.
On Saturday, the North Dakota Legislature's staff agency removed lawmakers' addresses from their biographical webpages as a result of the targeted attacks in Minnesota, Legislative Council Director John Bjornson said.
Most North Dakota lawmakers opt to give a home, business or postal box address on their webpage, where the public also can find their email addresses and phone numbers.
Removing addresses of elected officials is a difficult decision because they have to be approachable, open and transparent, said Burleigh County Sheriff Kelly Leben, whose county is home to North Dakota's capital city.
'I think it's a balancing act between being a public official and the safety of myself and my family,' the elected county sheriff said.
All home addresses for New Mexico legislators were also removed from the Statehouse website as an immediate precaution, said Shawna Casebier, director of the Legislature's legal office.
Personal information on the website already had been limited at the discretion of individual lawmakers in the aftermath of drive-by shootings at the homes of four Democratic state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque in 2022 and 2023.
In Colorado, at least 31 elected officials have filed requests to remove their personal contact information from a public-facing state campaign finance database called TRACER, which was briefly taken down Saturday so those requests could be fulfilled.
'We did so out of an abundance of caution for the safety of elected officials in an unprecedented political climate,' Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a statement. The Colorado development was first reported by Axios.
Lawmakers in Wisconsin requested additional security for when the state Assembly meets on Wednesday, said Luke Wolff, spokesperson for Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Wolff did not detail what was requested or what changes may be made.
The Wisconsin Capitol is one of the most open in the country, with public access seven days a week, no metal detectors, screening checkpoints or security badges required to gain entry. There are galleries in both the Senate and Assembly where the public can view legislative debate.
Even before the Minnesota shooting, states in recent years have stepped up efforts to shield the personal information of officials in response to high-profile attacks.
Oregon
One day before the Minnesota killings, Oregon lawmakers passed a bill that would prohibit the Oregon Secretary of State from making the residential addresses of those associated with a candidates' campaign committee viewable by the public on its electronic filing system. The campaign filings would still be viewable online, but home addresses would be redacted, unless the person asks the Secretary of State's office to publish it. A public records request would need to be filed to obtain such addresses.
Louisiana
Louisiana lawmakers passed a bill last week that adds statewide elected officials and legislators to the list of people who can ask that their personal information be removed from public records and the internet. Certain judges were already on the list.
Officials can seek to have home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, date of birth, marital status, school or daycare of their child, their place of worship or employment location of their spouse removed.
Under current law, if person does not comply with the removal request, they can be sued and face up to 90 days in prison or $1,000 fine for the misdemeanor.
The measure still needs final approval from Gov. Jeff Landry, one of the Louisiana officials whose private information would be protected.
Georgia
Georgia legislators passed a law earlier this year to require that home addresses of candidates who file campaign finance reports, including themselves, be redacted from by the state Ethics Commission from public view. The action came after a number of Georgia officials were targeted by swatting incidents in December 2023.
Lawmakers also passed a second law which removes the personal phone number, home address, and property or tax records of a judge or their spouse from public view. Records covered include voter registration and corporation records.
Illinois
The Illinois State Board of Elections stopped publishing the street addresses of candidates for political office on its website last year, spokesperson Matt Dietrich said. Lawmakers had raised concerns after protestors picketed the home of Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, the state librarian, over legislation he pushed through the General Assembly that would cut state funding to libraries that ban books.
Candidates' addresses remain on elections board documents that are no longer published on the web but accessible via public records request.
New Jersey
In 2020, a gunman posing as a delivery driver shot and killed the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in New Jersey and injured her husband at their family home. The state legislature passed a law later that year by that exempted the home addresses of current or retired judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers from disclosure under public records laws. The measure, called Daniel's Law in honor of the judge's son, also allowed officials to ask websites to remove their home addresses.
Maryland
Maryland enacted a law in 2024 preventing individuals from publishing judges' personal information online after a circuit court judge was shot by a man hours after the judge ruled against him in a divorce case. Judges can submit requests to government entities and private websites to remove information like phone numbers, social security numbers, and personal emails.
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Associated Press reporters Claire Rush in Portland, Ore., Jack Dura in Bismarck, N.D., John O'Connor in Springfield, Ill., Jeff Amy in Atlanta, Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, La., Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md. and Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, N.M. contributed to this report.
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