It’s been a month since the assassinations, yet hardly anyone seems to remember they occurred. On June 14, an assassin murdered the leader of the Minnesota House Democratic Caucus, Melissa Hortman, and her husband in the middle of the night at their home in suburban Minneapolis. The perpetrator also shot and wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Thankfully, Hoffman is now out of the ICU, though he has a long recovery ahead of him.
The murderer, Vance Boelter, had a “hit list” of 45 targets, all of whom were Democrats.
The politically motivated attack, however, barely made a blip in the national consciousness. People expressed shock the day it happened, but the country swiftly moved on. Similarly, almost no one is still discussing the April break-in and arson of the Pennsylvania Governor’s mansion, with the perpetrator’s goal of beating Governor Josh Shapiro with a hammer. That attack echoed a 2022 incident in which an individual broke into the home of Nancy Pelosi and assaulted her husband with a hammer. In 2020, several men plotted to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to start a civil war; two were convicted.
Just a year ago, a shooter wounded former President and then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Yet hardly anyone remembers the name of his attacker (Thomas Matthew Crooks), and we still know little about his motives. There were brief discussions of the security breaches that gave Crooks access to shoot at Trump, but no sustained public attention. Trump was almost killed, with a bullet grazing his ear, yet a year later, the fact that someone attempted to assassinate a former president who was the front-runner to retake the White House is no longer a story.
These attacks represented threats to democracy itself, spurred by today’s toxic political culture. They undermine the ideal that in America, we are supposed to settle our disputes at the ballot box.
Way too many Americans think that political violence is a necessity. A 2023 survey reported that almost a quarter of respondents agreed that “because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.” That number was up from 15% in 2021. In 2024, the U.S. Capitol police reported more threats against members of Congress and their families and staff than ever before. Judges are now the frequent targets of threats, including the murder of a federal judge’s son in 2020.
Unfortunately, the attacks are also part of the election infrastructure. Poll workers reported an increase in threats against them in 2024. Election officials now plan for potential violence on Election Day and its aftermath. The January 6 insurrectionists used violence to try to overturn the 2020 election.
To end the attacks, we must stop normalizing and then forgetting them.
There are many causes of increased political violence. Donald Trump fanned the flames by pardoning the January 6 rioters and claiming they were engaged in a patriotic act. He refuses to accept election outcomes except when he wins, encouraging his supporters to “fight.” Trump’s violent rhetoric—which has increased over the years—contributes to the normalization of political violence. So does the perpetuation of disinformation, conspiracy theories, and deep fakes, which increases polarization and the extreme “us versus them” mentality that optimizes today’s politics. The social media landscape makes us focus on the latest scandal or injustice. And both sides fail to do enough to call out toxic rhetoric, which research shows can normalize political violence.
Sadly, political violence is nothing new. Four sitting presidents have been assassinated: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963). Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt in 1981, though he was wounded. These acts of political violence are still discussed; many people can name both JFK and Reagan’s shooters (Lee Harvey Oswald and John Hinckley, Jr.).
Yet today, both Republicans and Democrats have allowed the political discourse to move on from the attacks on the Minnesota lawmakers and the Pennsylvania Governor, not to mention last year’s assassination attempts on Trump. Yes, Trump said the right things following the Minnesota shootings, posting on Truth Social that “Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America.” But then he moved on, even saying that calling Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to discuss the incident would be a “waste of time” because Walz is “so whacked out” and “doesn’t have a clue.” Trump did not attend Hortman’s funeral.
Similarly, instead of immediately condemning the attacks, Republican Senator Mike Lee posted insensitive comments on social media about the assassination, writing “this is what happens When Marxists don’t get their way” and posting a picture of the shooter with the caption “Nightmare on Waltz street,” only taking them down after Senator Tina Smith, the Minnesota Democrat, confronted her colleague.
That is not how leaders should act. We needed bipartisan denunciation and meaningful action, not attempts to score political points.
The country endured the 2000 Florida recount without major violence. Former NBC Nightly News Anchor Tom Brokaw remembered the 2000 presidential dispute: “There were no tanks in the street. And there were no National Guard units that had to be called up, because people were not out in the streets, you know, ready to trash buses and businesses. That’s a great tribute to this country.” Al Gore set the peaceful tone in his concession speech after the Supreme Court ruled against him: “History gives us many examples of contests as hotly debated, as fiercely fought, with their own challenges to the popular will. Other disputes have dragged on for weeks before reaching a resolution. And each time, both the victor and the vanquished have accepted the result peacefully and in a spirit of reconciliation. So let it be with us.”
These days, that sentiment seems almost quaint.
We need a new political culture that denounces political violence in the strongest terms, with a consistent and enduring message that urges Americans to settle their disputes at the next election through peaceful means. We must actively discuss the recent political attacks, not forget them. Leaders of both sides should not just move on to the next dispute. We must foster a political culture that encourages massive voter engagement, robust civic education, and truthful and positive rhetoric. Voters should respond accordingly, turning out in record numbers to signal the importance of resolving our differences at the ballot box, not through bullets.
For American democracy to endure, Hortman’s death must not be in vain. The media should not stop talking about what happened. All Americans should know her name.
