Vigil held to remember Minnesota politician and husband shot dead at home
Colin Hortman, the Hortmans' son, embraced Mr Walz and laid a photo of his parents on a memorial.
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'.
Colin Hortman (right) attends a candlelight vigil for his parents (Nikolas Liepins/AP/PA)
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.
Melissa Hortman was killed on Saturday (Nikolas Liepins/AP/PA)
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
23 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Swinney: Excluding disruptive pupils risks pushing them into organised crime
The First Minister defending guidance saying the measure should be a 'last resort' Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Excluding disruptive pupils from school risks pushing them into the hands of organised crime, John Swinney has warned. The First Minister said such measures had 'consequences' as he defended new guidance saying it should only be a 'last resort'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said a stricter approach is necessary to restore discipline in schools. John Swinney during First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament | PA He accused Mr Swinney of 'virtually' stopping exclusions, causing discipline to collapse and turning teachers into social workers. 'We believe in exclusions for violence because they protect staff and pupils, and because they work,' he said. Mr Findlay ridiculed new guidance for schools on how to deal with violent and aggressive behaviour from pupils as 'tedious, hand-wringing nonsense'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Teaching unions and opposition parties have been urging the Scottish Government to do more to tackle violence and poor behaviour in schools. In March, a survey by the NASUWT union found 83 per cent of teachers believed pupil violence and aggression had increased in the last year. Speaking during First Minister's Questions in Holyrood, Mr Swinney said it was 'palpably false' to claim he had stopped exclusions. He said there were 11,676 exclusions in Scottish schools in 2022/23, the last year for which figures are available. 'The guidance is crystal clear that exclusions are part of the approach that can be taken, but I'm making it clear today that exclusions can have negative consequences for young people,' he said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Swinney said excluded pupils are no longer in the safe environment of school, adding: 'They are therefore likely to be out on the streets, and therefore potentially able to become involved in some of the criminal activity that Mr Findlay himself has put to me within the last fortnight at First Minister's Questions as being a risk to which young people are exposed.' Mr Findlay said there are different types of exclusion 'rather than just putting children on to the streets'. He criticised the new guidance for suggesting teachers have 'a conversation to jointly problem solve with the child' and proposing they produce laminated bullet points advocating alternative behaviours. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We need a tougher approach, not laminated cards and inclusive chats,' Mr Findlay said. 'If pupils are violent or serially disruptive, exclude them.' Mr Swinney said the guidance seeks to address violence and deescalate situations in schools. He accused Mr Findlay of demonising young people and peddling 'simplistic nonsense'. Speaking to journalists after FMQs, Mr Swinney said: 'I think there are consequences of exclusions, so therefore those who call for there to be more exclusions have to also address the consequences. 'And the point I was making to Russell Findlay was the consequences of his call for more exclusions could be to contradict the call he made to me a fortnight ago, which was to avoid children becoming caught up in organised crime.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth previously said the new guidance had been developed with input from headteachers, unions and child psychologists.
Metro
26 minutes ago
- Metro
Putin dismisses talk of Russian NATO attack as ‘nonsense'
Steve Charnock Published June 19, 2025 10:50am Link is copied Comments Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed claims that Russia intends to attack NATO. Putin called the idea 'nonsense', suggesting that the idea was fabricated by Western leaders aimed at convincing taxpayers to boost their own defence spending. He insisted that Russia does not see NATO as any kind of threat, nor does it consider the alliance's rearmament efforts to be a danger to Russia. Although he did characterize those efforts as 'completely irrational and pointless' (Picture: Sputnik/AP) At a late-night press conference on Wednesday, the Russian chief vowed that his forces would continue their advance in Ukraine. But he was adamant that Russia had no plans to advance militarily in the direction of NATO, something which would no doubt result in a massive global escalation of the conflict (Picture: Sputnik/AP) NATO is set to hold a pivotal summit in The Hague next week, where leaders will discuss whether or not to agree to raise their defence spending to 5% of GDP. It's a move being pushed by US President Donald Trump and is something now being echoed by others in the alliance. It's thought likely that the organisation will agree to the spending increase (Picture: Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock) Putin attempted to explain why - to his mind - it made 'no sense for NATO to extend their arms budget'. 'We do not consider any NATO rearmament to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our security' (Picture: AFP via Getty Images) Putin then spoke on why it may look, to NATO, as if Russia is stepping up its efforts with increased military spend and developments. 'We are constantly improving our armed forces and our defensive capabilities,' he said. 'Whatever NATO does, of course, it creates certain threats, but we will stop all these threats that will arise. There is no doubt about it. In this sense, any rearmament and budget increase to 5% of the GDP of NATO countries makes no sense' (Picture: AP) 'Secondly. over the centuries, unfortunately, in the West, from time to time, for decades, the question of the threat from Russia has always arisen. It was so convenient for the Western elites to build their internal policy, because on the basis of an imaginary threat from the east, they could extort money from taxpayers and all the time explain their own mistakes in the field of economics by the threat from the east' (Picture: AFP/Getty Images) 'If the NATO countries want to further increase their budget, well, that's their business. But it won't do anyone any good. Of course, they will create additional risks. Well, yes, they will. But it's not our decision. I think this is completely irrational and pointless. And, of course, there are no threats from Russia. It's just nonsense' (Picture: Sputnik/Reuters)
The Herald Scotland
27 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Israel threatens Iran's top leader after missiles damage hospital and wound 200
At least 240 people were wounded by the Iranian missiles, four of them seriously, according to Israel's health ministry. The vast majority were lightly wounded, including more than 70 people from the Soroka Medical Centre in the southern city of Beersheba, where smoke rose as emergency teams evacuated patients. In the aftermath of the strikes, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz blamed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said the military 'has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist'. US officials said this week that US president Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Mr Khamenei. Mr Trump later said there were no plans to kill him 'at least not for now'. Israel carried out strikes on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, in its latest attack on the country's sprawling nuclear programme, on the seventh day of a conflict that began with a surprise wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting military sites, senior officers and nuclear scientists. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded. The Israeli air defence system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv (Leo Correa/AP) In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds. Two doctors told The Associated Press that the missile struck almost immediately after air raid sirens went off, causing a loud explosion that could be heard from a safe room. The hospital said the main impact was on an old surgery building that had been evacuated in recent days. After the strike, the medical facility was closed to all patients except for life-threatening cases, it said. Soroka has more than 1,000 beds and provides services to around one million residents in the south of Israel. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the strike on the hospital and vowed a response, saying: 'We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran.' A firefighter walks past a damaged area at the Soroka hospital complex after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran (Leo Correa/AP) Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, although most have been shot down by Israel's multi-tiered air defences, which detect incoming fire and shoot down missiles heading towards population centres and critical infrastructure. Israeli officials acknowledge it is imperfect. Haim Bublil, a local police commander, told reporters that several people were lightly wounded in the strike. Many hospitals in Israel activated emergency plans in the past week, converting underground parking to hospital floors and moving patients underground, especially those who are on ventilators or are difficult to move quickly. Israel also boasts a fortified, subterranean blood bank that kicked into action after Hamas's October 7 2023 attack ignited the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. Israel's military said its fighter jets targeted the Arak facility and its reactor core seal to halt it from being used to produce plutonium. 'The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production, in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development,' the military said. Patients rest outdoors after the attack on the Soroka hospital complex (Leo Correa/AP) Israel separately claimed to have struck another site around Natanz it described as being related to Iran's nuclear programme. Iranian state TV said there was 'no radiation danger whatsoever' from the attack on the Arak site. An Iranian state television reporter, speaking live in the nearby town of Khondab, said the facility had been evacuated and there was no damage to civilian areas around the reactor. Israel had warned earlier on Thursday morning that it would attack the facility and urged the public to flee the area. Iran has long maintained its programme is for peaceful purposes. But it also enriches uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich at that level. Israel is the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but does not acknowledge having such weapons. The strikes came a day after Iran's supreme leader rejected US calls for surrender and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause 'irreparable damage to them'. Israel had lifted some restrictions on daily life on Wednesday, suggesting the missile threat from Iran on its territory was easing. Israeli security forces inspect a destroyed building in Holon, near Tel Aviv, that was hit by a missile (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) Already, Israel's campaign has targeted Iran's enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge workshops around Tehran and a nuclear site in Isfahan. Its strikes have also killed top generals and nuclear scientists. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he would travel to Geneva for meetings with his European counterparts on Friday, indicating that a new diplomatic initiative might be taking shape. Iran's official IRNA news agency said the meeting would include foreign ministers from the UK, France and Germany and the European Union's top diplomat. Mr Trump has said he wants something 'much bigger' than a ceasefire and has not ruled out the US joining Israel's campaign. Iran has warned of dire consequences if the US deepens its involvement, without elaborating.
