ST. PAUL, Minn. — Elected officials, former President Joe Biden and everyday Minnesotans streamed into the white-domed state Capitol on Friday to pay their respects to state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were fatally shot at their suburban Minneapolis home this month.
At one point, a line of mourners stretched around the block outside the Capitol in St. Paul as people slowly passed through the rotunda to mourn the Hortmans, who were lying in state in wooden coffins adorned with floral arrangements. An urn for their dog, Gilbert, who was also killed in the attack, was displayed alongside photographs.
Authorities have described the killing of Hortman, a Democrat who previously served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, as an assassination. The suspect in the couple’s deaths appeared briefly in federal court Friday.
At the Capitol, Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, were the first to approach the coffins. Mayor Melvin Carter of St. Paul wiped tears from his eyes as he passed. Lisa Demuth, the Republican speaker of the state House, was also among the first to pay respects. Dozens of Capitol workers stopped by, some crying or exchanging hugs on the building’s steps as they left.
Biden arrived in the afternoon, crossing his heart as he stood by the memorial to the Hortmans. He kneeled briefly and crossed himself again before moving aside. He also spoke with several mourners.
(His former vice president, Kamala Harris, was set to attend the Hortmans’ funeral service Saturday.)
Nearby, inside the House chamber, a picture of Hortman was displayed on her desk alongside a vase holding flowers.
As mourners lined up outside the building, some carried bouquets or were accompanied by their dogs. Hours after the procession started, hundreds of people remained in line.
Anna Richey, a former Capitol staff member, said she had crossed paths with Hortman frequently.
“She was as real as she was tough as she was empathetic,” Richey said.
One mourner, Faith Mainor, said, “I’d like to see some scaling back of the dialogue that led to this.”
Amy Schulte, a Minneapolis resident, held flowers and a dog toy that she planned to leave in the rotunda as a tribute to the Hortmans.
“I just felt like it was just a senseless death, just violent, indescribable,” said Schulte.
In a federal courtroom in St. Paul, a public defender representing Vance Boelter, the man charged with killing the Hortmans, complained about the strict detention conditions that Boelter was facing, as she persuaded a federal judge to postpone a detention hearing.
Boelter, 57, appeared in the courtroom wearing a green garment held together with Velcro patches. That type of garment is issued to detainees when correction officials fear they may harm themselves, his lawyer, Manvir K. Atwal, said during a brief hearing.
Judge Douglas L. Micko asked Boelter if he objected to delaying the hearing until next Thursday. Boelter said he was fine with a delay, and told the judge he had not been able to sleep for “12 to 14 days.” (He was taken into custody on the night of June 15, after a nearly two-day manhunt.)
Boelter also seemed to push back on the notion that he might harm himself. “I have never been suicidal, and am not suicidal now,” he told the judge.
Boelter’s hearing will determine if he should remain jailed before trial, but it is unlikely he will be released, given the severity of the crimes he is accused of committing, including murder. Besides the killings of the Hortmans, Boelter is also accused of shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, who survived.
The shootings were part of what authorities have described as a broader plan to assassinate Democratic officials. Boelter has not entered a plea, and his lawyer has not responded to requests for comment.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
© 2025 The New York Times Company