Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar dined with former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman shortly before before she was tragically gunned down in her home alongside her husband.
Klobuchar (D-Minn.) was informed about the heartbreaking loss by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) around 5 a.m. Saturday.
“I wish everyone had known her like we knew her,” Klobuchar told Politico. “I was there when she was doorknocking in the beginning. … I was in county office and she was seeking the legislative office.”
“She was pretty no-nonsense,” the senator added. “But in a kind way, with a lot of humor.”
Hortman, who served as state speaker from 2019 until January 2025, was killed alongside her husband, Mark, early Saturday in a shooting officials say “appears to be a politically motivated assassination.”
The suspect, identified as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, dressed like a police officer when carrying out the attack, according to authorities. A massive manhunt is underway for Boelter.
Authorities put out an alert in South Dakota and believe he’s “in the vicinity” of the Midwest, Klobuchar said.
Boelter is also accused of shooting and badly wounding Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.
The sicko left behind a manifesto naming 70 politicians, such as Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and the state’s congressional delegation. Klobuchar said she was not briefed that she was a potential target.
The deranged killer also had “No Kings” flyers in his vehicle, referring to protests against President Trump held across the country Saturday.
Boelter had previously been appointed to key posts by Minnesota governors, including a position on the Workforce Development Council in 2016 under then-Gov. Mark Dayton, and again to that board by Walz in 2019, according to documents.
Klobuchar was five years into her tenure as County Attorney of Hennepin County in 2004 when Hortman first ascended into Minnesota’s House of Representatives.
Around that time, Hortman was juggling her responsibilities of being a politician with teaching Sunday school and leading a Girl Scout troop, Klobuchar recounted.
That ability to manage with two kids led her to do “a really good job managing legislators,” the senator reflected to Politico.
Klobuchar recounted how Hortman turned the mute button off that the speaker before her used to stop other lawmakers from interrupting.
“She’s like ‘I don’t need that. I can use the gavel,’” Klobuchar recalled. “She was just such a skilled legislator at bringing people together.”
Klobuchar said she hopes the increased levels of political violence don’t deter good people from seeking office.
“I hope good people still run or our democracy won’t stand,” she told the outlet.
“This has gotten totally out of hand,” Klobuchar told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “With threats against members of Congress in 2016, there were like 1,700 of them. Last year, over 9,000 of them.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for bolstered security for Klobuchar and fellow retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) in the wake of the horrifying assassination.
“I asked Capitol Police—as I did earlier this week for Senator Padilla—to immediately increase security for both senators. I thank the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police for increasing security for all three,” Schumer announced Saturday.
