Political violence hits Minnesota.

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Quick hits.

Clarification: In yesterday’s Quick Hits, we covered President Trump’s comments criticizing former President Barack Obama and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for ousting Russia from the G8 summit in 2014. However, Trudeau did not become prime minister until 2015, and his conservative predecessor, Stephen Harper, led the effort to remove Russia from the group. We should have noted this inaccuracy in our summary of the story.

1. BREAKING: The Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law barring certain forms of gender-transition care for minors. The Court ruled 6–3 along ideological lines. (The ruling)
2. Israel continued large-scale airstrikes on Iran, and President Donald Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” commenting that the United States knows where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding but did not plan to kill him, “at least not for now.” (The latest) Separately, Iran continued its own attacks on Israel, launching a series of ballistic missiles on Tuesday. Israel reported no deaths or serious injuries from the strikes. (The strikes)
3. Federal agents arrested New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander (D) at an immigration courthouse as he locked arms with an unauthorized migrant whom agents were seeking to arrest. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Lander assaulted and impeded a law enforcement officer, but no charges have been filed. (The arrest)
4. Russia launched a significant drone and missile attack on Ukraine that killed 15 people, including a U.S. citizen, according to Ukrainian officials. (The attack)
5. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was hospitalized on Tuesday after suffering an allergic reaction. An agency spokesperson said Noem is alert and recovering. (The hospitalization)
6. The Defense Department awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to provide the department with artificial intelligence tools. (The contract)

Today’s topic.

The Minnesota shootings. On Saturday morning, Minnesota House Representative Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband were shot and killed in their home in Brooklyn Park, MN. Earlier that morning, state Senator John Hoffman (D) and his wife were also shot in their home in Champlin, MN, but both survived. Authorities identified a 57-year-old male suspect and, after a two-day manhunt, apprehended him on Monday. Hortman, 55, served as Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019–2025.

Note: Due to the well documented contagion effect, Tangle’s policy is to not name shooters or suspects in high-profile attacks.

The suspect allegedly carried out his first attack at the home of Sen. Hoffman, arriving in a black SUV with police lights. He announced himself as police and knocked loudly on their front door before shining a flashlight into the victims’ faces, according to authorities. Hoffman was shot several times, as was his wife, Yvette, who was shielding their daughter from gunfire, according to their nephew. The suspect then traveled to two other state lawmakers’ homes; at one house his presumed targets were not home, while the presence of a police officer may have deterred him from the other. 

Finally, the suspect drove to Rep. Hortman’s house, where he also encountered law enforcement. According to the police report, the shooter and police exchanged gunfire before the suspect forcibly entered the house, where he shot and killed the Hortmans. Both Rep. Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot multiple times. Their children were uninjured, but their family dog was wounded in the shooting and had to be euthanized. 

Police have still not disclosed a suspected motive, but those familiar with the suspect described him as a conservative with strong pro-life beliefs. The FBI called the shooting “targeted” due to the notebook the suspect was found with, which included a list of names of prominent pro-choice Democratic lawmakers and abortion providers. According to court documents, the shooter texted his family hours after the attacks and said that he “went to war.” Authorities are unsure if the suspect personally knew any of the lawmakers he targeted, though Governor Mark Dayton (D) had appointed him to a state economic board in 2016 that he served on with Hoffman.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) released a statement mourning Speaker Hortman’s death and condemning the shooting. “Today Minnesota lost a great leader, and I lost a friend. A formidable public servant and a fixture of the state Capitol, Melissa Hortman woke up every day determined to make our state a better place. She served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, and tirelessness,” Walz said. “We must stand united against all forms of violence — and I call on everyone to join me in that commitment.”

President Donald Trump also condemned the shootings. “Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place,” Trump said in a statement, later adding that he would not call Gov. Walz and considered doing so a “waste of time.”

Hortman was the top Democrat in the Minnesota state House, which had a slim one-vote Republican majority before her assassination. A candlelight vigil for Melissa and Mark Hortman will be held in front of the state capitol in St. Paul, MN, on Wednesday evening.

We’ll get into what the right, left, and Minnesota writers are saying about the shooting below. Then, Tangle Senior Editor and Minnesota native Will Kaback gives his take.

Agreed.

• Commentators across the political spectrum condemn the killings and the alleged motivations of the suspect. 
• Most on the right and left also acknowledge the need to address political violence on both sides.

What the right is saying.

• The right condemns the killings, with some saying the onus is on conservative leaders to loudly denounce this instance of violence. 
• Others argue that the right is being held to a standard the left doesn’t abide by. 

In City Journal, Charles Fain Lehman said “political violence has no partisan allegiance.”

“The Minnesota murders, then, are part of the broader wave of political violence—fire bombings, riots, and homicides — that has swept the country over the past six months. Leaders on the right should condemn them with exactly the same force as they have the many violent incidents perpetrated by left-wing criminals, making it clear that there is no partisan valence to opposing murder,” Lehman wrote. “It would be pointless to tally up these incidents against recent bouts of left-wing violence and try to judge which ‘side’ has more of a problem. Both do. More importantly, leaders on both sides have an interest in speaking out against political violence.”

“The first step in fulfilling that task is to offer no defense of or apology for political violence. President Trump’s statement on the incident — which made clear that ‘such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America’ — is a model to be followed,” Lehman said. “It goes from there into action. [The suspect’s] alleged crime occurred in a state that has — foolishly — abolished capital punishment. Current federal law and the nature of the offense probably limits the Department of Justice’s ability to step in (though the use of a firearm creates a possible avenue for the federal government). Minnesota should certainly pursue the toughest sentence available and consider restoring the death penalty.”

In PJ Media, Matt Margolis wrote “Democrats have no business lecturing us about violent rhetoric.”

“The tragic shooting of Minnesota lawmakers has prompted Democrats to suddenly speak out against the dangers of heated political rhetoric. And while it’s nice to hear them say the right things for once, their words ring hollow — and deeply hypocritical,” Margolis said. “Immediately after the July 13 assassination attempt, some Democrats, including Joe Biden, said it was time to cool the temperature down. That’s lasted, what, 15 seconds? Seriously, it took no time at all for Democrats and their media allies to resume their relentless campaign of demonization. They persisted with inflammatory comparisons to Hitler, continued labeling Trump supporters as ‘fascists,’ and maintained their apocalyptic warnings about ‘threats to democracy.’”

“Democrats aren’t interested in dialing back political rhetoric—they’re trying to hijack the narrative and use it as yet another weapon against Trump and the GOP,” Margolis wrote. “The Democratic Party need[s] to stop pretending they have the moral high ground on political rhetoric. If they really cared, they’d examine their own party's contribution to the toxic political environment that has made such violence increasingly common. True leadership means taking responsibility for your own rhetoric before demanding others change theirs.”

What the left is saying.

• The left also decries the rise in political violence, and many say we must take additional steps to protect lawmakers while toning down partisan rhetoric.
• Others argue Trump’s style of politics is primarily to blame for the breakdown in social cohesion. 

The Washington Post editorial board said “the Minnesota assassin sought — and found — soft targets.”

“Spending a fortune on round-the-clock security for most or all of America’s elected officials would certainly cut down on targeted political violence. But doing so would also isolate the nation’s leaders from those they represent. Social media interactions can’t replace in-person conversations with neighbors and direct participation in the community. So, elected officials need to strike a balance,” the board wrote. “Lawmakers can harden themselves as targets. They should install alarm systems and security cameras at their homes to screen visitors. Minnesota and other states have easy security measures they can take, too.

“States can make it harder to find officials’ personal information online. The Minnesota lawmakers attacked over the weekend had listed their home addresses on public websites… States can also better secure their capitols. Minnesota does not require visitors to go through metal detectors or even to have their bags checked as they enter the state legislative building,” the board said. “In the bigger picture, the epidemic of political violence will not end until society considers what’s fueling the rise in all these threats and attacks, including dehumanizing rhetoric and echo chambers in the fever swamps of social media. Too often, partisans appear eager to blame their opponents after any heinous attack.”

In The Nation, Michele Goodwin wrote “the escalating political violence didn’t come from nowhere.”

“In the wake of this latest tragedy involving deadly political violence… undeniable realities must be confronted, including the brazen amplifications of violence from the highest offices of government, the Supreme Court’s dubious obliviousness to its look-the-other-way approach to defending the rule of law, and a long-standing disregard for the safety and lives of those who support reproductive freedom,” Goodwin said. “Even as politicians condemned this tragedy in Minnesota, efforts to stem political violence from the White House ring hollow… It isn’t only the president’s disparaging remarks or rhetoric on Truth Social, where he has referred to [California’s] governor as ‘Gavin Newscum’; it’s also the weaponization of the Capitol rioters (all of whom he pardoned), white supremacists, and now the National Guard to carry out political agendas.”

“To whatever extent it was true in the past that the United States is a nation devoted to freedom of expression in public affairs and government, press, and academia, it is now an open question. In an atmosphere that encourages political retribution and violence, seeks to silence disagreement and opposition at levels that reach the highest ranks in government, we should all be concerned.”

What writers in Minnesota are saying.

• Some writers call on political leaders to make earnest efforts to de-escalate extreme rhetoric. 
• Others laud the actions of law enforcement that stopped the suspect before additional attacks. 

In The Free Press, former Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) pushed back on those “trying to twist this tragedy into a partisan talking point.”

“Over the past decade, as Congress and state legislatures around the country become populated by blowhards who care more about their own airtime than their constituents, Melissa and John remained true to their principles. These were not flashy people. They did not care about their brands. They cared about doing right. And nothing would have disgusted them more than the baseless, shameful efforts by pundits wishing to make this tragedy a partisan issue and further divide Americans,” Phillips wrote. “Right now, you will find people who are trying to twist this tragedy into yet another piece of destructive partisanship. That is the opposite of what Melissa and John worked for so relentlessly.”

“The major political parties and leaders who fertilize these dangerous fields won’t acknowledge their roles or accept the responsibility of modeling behavior needed to reunite our precious states of America. I’m not talking about ‘thoughts and prayers’ statements. I’m talking about the hard work of cooperation, problem-solving, reprimanding and removing toxic dividers, and acting to befit the offices with which they are entrusted,” Phillips said. “Melissa and Mark’s memory and John and Yvette’s fight to live can be honored only if center-left and center-right Americans unite behind the restoration of decency, good character, competency, and common sense as prerequisites for elected office.”

In The Star Tribune, John Rash praised “coordinated, cohesive law enforcement efforts” to catch the suspect.

“The carnage could have been much worse: [the suspect] went to four, not two, targeted homes, and according to Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley, the quick thinking of Brooklyn Park Police Sgt. Rielly Nordan interrupted the assassin’s spree,” Rash wrote. “From then on the manhunt was on, with federal, state, county and local law enforcement entities cohesively coordinating their efforts that ended 43 hours after [the suspect] allegedly invaded the Hoffman’s house with the arrest of the man suspected of crimes that acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson rightly described as ‘the stuff of nightmares.’”

“The police valor on vivid display in recent days is commendable — and yet common, justifying the public’s increased confidence in the police as well as citizens’ key role in contributing to community safety. Nothing can undo this tragedy, which is unprecedented in scale and scope here in Minnesota, but it’s acted as a timely reminder of the dedication of, and the risks taken by, those who wear the badge.”

My take.

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• This attack hits very close to home, and like most Minnesotans, I’m horrified by these murders and thankful for the quick police response.
• Political violence is not a one-sided issue — this is a shared problem.
• Intensifying our divisions will only encourage more shootings like this.

A strange (and I think unfortunate) byproduct of working in the news is that covering tragedies can start to feel like just another day on the job. That facade of normalcy — the resignation that these events are just a part of the news cycle — disappears quickly when a tragedy strikes close to home, as it did for me with Saturday’s attacks in Minnesota. 

I grew up in St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis just south of Brooklyn Park, where Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed. My house is close enough to where the shooting occurred that I woke up to texts from my mom on Saturday morning that she could hear sirens as police searched for the gunman. I was also fairly active in Minnesota politics growing up, so I was familiar with Rep. Hortman and her work in the state House. 

To state the obvious, these attacks were horrific and their effects will likely reverberate in the community for some time. I’ve been glad to see political leaders on both sides (outside of Sen. Mike Lee, who posted, “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way”) quickly and vocally condemn these acts — it’s a low bar to meet, but important at a time when pervasive partisan fissures catalyze this kind of violence. 

From my conversations with people back home, I know Minnesotans are also feeling an immense amount of gratitude toward law enforcement for their immediate response, which undoubtedly prevented the shooter from carrying out attacks on additional legislators. The officers’ brave action — exchanging fire with the suspect at Hortman’s home and forcing him to flee on foot — prevented this story about the rising tide of political violence from being even deadlier and more dire. 

Political violence is not unique — or new — to the United States, but it is getting worse. In 2024, the United States Capitol Police investigated 9,474 concerning statements and direct threats against lawmakers, up from 8,008 in 2023 and significantly up from 3,939 in 2017. In October 2024, Reuters published an investigative report that found that since the Jan. 6 riots, the country has experienced “the biggest and most sustained increase in U.S. political violence since the 1970s.” A 2024 review from the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point found “the number of federal prosecutions [for threats to public officials] is on pace to hit new record highs” and “may produce significant consequences for the U.S. democratic system of governance.” 

Here’s a partial list of political attacks in the last ten years: the shootings of Reps. Steve Scalise (R) and Gabby Giffords (D), the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, the attempted murder of then-mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg (D) in Louisville, the hammer attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D) husband, the attempted assasination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a series of assassination attempts against Democratic elected officials in New Mexico, an arson attack at the New Mexico Republican headquarters, a targeted shooting at a Democratic National Committee office in Arizona, two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump, and the arson attack at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) residence. 

And these are just the attacks against high-profile political figures. That same time period has also brought a rise in issue-driven violence, like the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, the 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo, the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the New Year's Day truck attack in New Orleans, the targeted attacks on Tesla dealerships, the recent attack in Boulder and the recent murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers (to name just a few), all of which were motivated in part by an ideological agenda. 

To be honest, though, I don’t think anyone needs a slew of studies or headlines to be convinced that political violence is a worsening problem. The more important question is: What can we do about it? 

In my view, no solution is possible unless we see this violence as a collective crisis rather than a problem confined to one side or the other. As soon as the name of the suspected Minnesota shooter was released, partisan actors on social media began selectively sharing information to paint him as either a far-left or far-right activist. As we wrote yesterday, the available evidence points to the suspect being a religious conservative who solely targeted Democrats, potentially motivated by anti-abortion views. But framing these events as a piece in a narrative about which side is more violent or more of a threat to the country doesn’t put all of us against the problem, it pits “us” against “them.”

As the examples above show, political violence genuinely is coming from both sides, so only focusing on one extreme ideology as the source of violence won’t get us closer to a solution. Each side should reflect on how their rhetoric and actions contribute to this violence — for instance, the deification of Luigi Mangione on the left, the mocking of Paul Pelosi on the right, and the rising tide of antisemitism on both sides — and seek to tamp down those elements. However, addressing the root causes of this violence requires a shared recognition that both sides have a problem, and collective action is the only way forward. 

We can look to Minnesota as a model. As some stories about the attacks have noted, the state has historically had a strong culture of civility in politics (call it “Minnesota nice,” perhaps). George Floyd’s death in 2020 strained that culture, and last weekend’s shootings will strain it further. But so far, local lawmakers have led by example in their response. On Tuesday, state Rep. Harry Niska, the House GOP floor leader and a staunch conservative, calmly but firmly called out Sen. Mike Lee’s now-deleted post about the shooting.

Niska wrote, “I suggest you take just a pause, though, and have just a bit of empathy for the many people touched by the horrible crimes committed in Minnesota on Saturday. Sen. Lee’s post was classless, baseless, and counterproductive.” 

Multiple other state Republican lawmakers joined Niska and their Democratic colleagues in using their platforms to refute conspiracy theories and harmful comments about the shooting. Again, pushing back on this kind of rhetoric may feel like a low bar to clear, but it takes the air out of attempts by bad actors to turn these incidents into a wedge issue. It’s a first step, one that reaffirms a set of shared values and signals to political opposition that there is common ground on which to work. 

Unfortunately, I don’t think a single incident — as horrifying as the attacks in Minnesota were — is powerful enough to prompt the level of introspection needed to counteract the forces driving the rise in political violence. But considering how these events have piled on top of each other with increasing frequency in recent years, we do seem to be nearing a hinge point that will determine whether or not we have the will to step back from the brink. If anything positive is to come out of last weekend’s attacks, I hope it’s that it helps us see the urgency of doing so. 

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Your questions, answered.

Q: I’m curious what the Tangle team thinks of what happened to Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) for trying to ask a question at Kristi Noem’s press conference?

— Alicia from West Virginia

Tangle: Last Thursday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem held a press conference discussing her department’s recent immigration actions in Los Angeles. After attending a briefing nearby, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) arrived at the press conference and confronted Noem about the recent DHS raids that targeted migrants without criminal records.

Video of the conference shows Padilla approaching Noem while she was speaking from a door near the side of the room. Padilla identifies himself, saying, “I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” as he is being restrained by Secret Service and FBI agents. Law enforcement then forcibly removed him from the room, held him face down on the ground, and handcuffed him before briefly detaining and later releasing him. DHS said the agents mistook him for an attacker because he was approaching the podium where Noem was speaking and didn't follow commands, adding that they did not identify him as a senator because he was not wearing a congressional pin.

From our perspective, it definitely looks like agents overreacted to Padilla — no U.S. senator should be treated that way for asking questions, and the arrest in the hallway was far more forceful than it needed to be. 

However, Padilla isn’t totally blameless here, and we understand why Secret Service and FBI agents acted the way they did. Yes, Padilla identified himself, but only after law enforcement intercepted him as he approached the podium mid-speech. In our current climate of political violence (just look at today’s main story), we can understand why the agents would be overreactive in that situation, even inside a secured federal building. At the very least, it’s easy to understand why they wouldn’t pause to confirm whether or not he was a senator before they felt they had the situation under control. Most importantly, we are glad that Noem and Padilla had a productive private conversation following the incident.

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Under the radar.

40 states are expected to experience extreme levels of humidity over the next two weeks. Above-average ocean temperatures and southerly winds are driving the high humidity, which is forecasted to persist throughout the summer. The weather will be especially concentrated in central and eastern states, with humidity and temperatures beginning to rise on Thursday; 170 million people could experience temperatures above 90 degrees. The Washington Post has the story and city-by-city breakdowns of the forecast.

Numbers.

• 213. The number of incidents of political violence in the United States between January 6, 2021 and August 2023, according to a Reuters report. 
• 76. Of those violent incidents, the number that were individual acts of violence.
• 58. Of those violent incidents, the number that were between dueling groups at public demonstrations and events.
• 170. The approximate number of threats and harassment incidents against local officials in 2025 (through April), according to a report from Princeton’s Bridging Divides Initiative. 
• 17%. The percentage of threats and harassment incidents against local officials in April that were education related. 
• 33%. The percentage of threats and harassment incidents against local officials in April that were local or community specific. 
• 9,474. The number of concerning statements and direct threats against members of Congress (including families and staff) investigated by the United States Capitol Police in 2024. 
• 3,939. The number of concerning statements and direct threats against members of Congress investigated by the United States Capitol Police in 2017.

The extras.

• One year ago today we covered the Supreme Court’s bump-stock ruling.
• The most clicked link in yesterday’s newsletter was President Trump blaming Trudeau and Obama from Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
• Nothing to do with politics: The Florida Panthers have become the tenth franchise to win back-to-back Stanley Cups.
• Yesterday’s survey: 2,661 readers answered our survey on the number of unauthorized migrants President Trump could reasonably deport in 2025 with 38% saying under 250,000. “It's not about the number so much as who they are,” one respondent said.

Have a nice day.

After losing four friends to cardiac arrest, David Sullivan has spent the past few years trying to improve cardiac arrest survival rates by installing life-saving equipment in remote places. One stop for Sullivan was Mount Everest, where he installed a defibrillator at 22,000 feet. Three weeks after returning home, Sullivan learned that it had already saved a woman’s life. “It was the proudest moment of my life when I learned what had happened,” Sullivan said, adding, “It is incredible that something so simple can save someone’s life.” Fox News has the story.

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