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Political violence escalates in US as Minnesota lawmaker, husband killed
Minnesota, June 17 — From the pulpit on Sunday, Father Joe Whalen urged his parishioners to avoid the extreme partisanship and hatred that appeared to be behind the killing of Democratic Minnesota state legislator Melissa Hortman.
It was a message Whalen felt his congregation needed to hear, even at the Catholic church where Hortman once taught Sunday school, and in a state known for the political civility of a bygone era.
In his homily at the Church of St. Timothy, Whalen told his parish to adhere to the Christian message of peace and warned against responding to political discourse with unkindness or anger, especially when cloaked in anonymity online.
'We can choose all that by our words, by our thoughts, by our actions, or we can walk a different path, and we can invite the cycle of retribution,' Whalen said. 'We know what we need to do.'
Whalen spoke one day after a gunman killed Hortman and her husband — a crime Governor Tim Walz described as a 'politically motivated assassination' — and shot and wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife. The suspect, identified by police as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, remains at large.
The shootings mark the most sustained period of political violence in the US since the 1970s. Reuters has documented more than 300 politically motivated violent acts since supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Last summer, Trump, a Republican, survived two assassination attempts during his election campaign. In April, an assailant set fire to the official residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat.
Yet the shootings outside Minneapolis shocked many, arriving during days when protests over immigration roiled Los Angeles, a US senator was forcibly removed from a press conference, and a rare military parade rolled through Washington.
Not only did the shootings highlight the spread of political violence, but they also took place in a state perceived by many as a haven of civility and bipartisanship, a stereotype captured in the phrase 'Minnesota nice'.
While Minnesota leans blue in state-wide races, its legislature is evenly split between the parties, requiring compromise. Both Hortman and Hoffman were known for working across the aisle.
'Minnesota has a unique reputation, and I think it's somewhat merited. We have typically, at least politically, not been as excessive as other places,' said David Hann, former chairman of the state Republican Party. 'But I think that has changed.'
Compromise in politics
Several parishioners said the racial justice protests following George Floyd's 2020 murder, which included looting and violence, shattered any illusion of immunity from polarisation.
'The violence is here,' said Carolyn Breitbach, 81, after attending Sunday Mass. 'I think people are interested in their own agenda. They want to take things into their own hands and make things right.'
One of Hortman's last acts as a legislator was a compromise. She cast the lone Democratic vote for a bill cutting healthcare benefits for adult undocumented immigrants — a provision her party opposed — to secure a state budget deal. Hortman, the Minnesota House's top Democrat, teared up as she explained her vote.
Larry Kraft, a Democratic colleague, said he has seen rhetoric coarsen in recent years.
'How can it not? The discourse everywhere is becoming harsher and more partisan,' Kraft said. 'That said, I think we do a reasonable job in Minnesota of bridging that. We just did with the budget that we passed.'
The 2024 election further heightened tensions in Minnesota. Then-candidate Trump and his allies targeted Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate, over Minnesota's expansions of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
Harris won the state with 50.9 per cent of the vote to Trump's 46.7 per cent. However, Trump narrowed his margin of loss from 2020, signalling a shift to the right. The last Republican to win Minnesota was Richard Nixon in 1972.
Trump condemned the Minnesota shootings but told ABC News on Sunday he had not called Walz, criticising him as a 'terrible governor' who was 'grossly incompetent.'
Democratic state legislator Erin Koegel, a St. Timothy parishioner, accused Trump of fanning divisions.
'He's the one who is lighting a fire,' said Koegel, adding that she was disappointed her Republican colleagues in Minnesota were not 'stepping up to say that this isn't right.'
White House comments
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson accused Democrats of exploiting the 'senseless tragedy' to 'blame President Trump — a survivor of two assassination attempts — who is unifying the country and making America safe again.'
Koegel pointed to Hortman as a model politician, recalling how she tied committee leadership appointments to promises of civility.
'That was something she always preached,' Koegel said. 'Even with divisive issues for debate on the floor, she always reminded us not to be angry or mean. We need to debate civilly.' — Reuters
