Mass. politicians condemn assassination of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman

Massachusetts political leaders are condemning the assassination of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman.

Authorities say a man posing as a police officer fatally shot the Democratic lawmaker and her husband early Saturday in their suburban Minneapolis home. In a separate attack, a second state lawmaker, Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife were shot and wounded in their home.

In a statement released Saturday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she was "horrified" to hear about the attack.

"This is not normal," she said in the statement. "[The violence] is not who we are as Americans, and we must all condemn political violence in the strongest possible terms."

Hortman, 53, was a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and studied philosophy and political science at Boston University, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1991. She received a mid-career master's degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2018.

“Melissa was a dedicated and inspiring public servant," a Harvard Kennedy School spokesperson said in a statement. "This is a devastating loss for the HKS community, and she will be missed by faculty, staff, and so many alumni who studied with her during her time on campus.”

Boston University President Melissa Gilliam said in a statement, “The entire Boston University community grieves the loss of one of our cherished alumnae, Melissa Hortman, who was a beloved and respected public servant."

Massachusetts State Sen. Bruce Tarr, a Republican and his chamber's minority leader, described the attacks as "a direct affront to the principles of democracy and civil society."

In a post on X, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey wrote that political violence of all forms must be denounced. Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano also posted a statement on X following the assassination, writing that he was "appalled and heartbroken" by the acts of political violence.

"Political violence has no place in America, nor does the kind of inflammatory rhetoric that can often incite that violence," Mariano said in the statement.