Thousands of mourners, including the former US president Joe Biden, flocked to the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul on Friday to pay their last respects to Democratic Congresswoman Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were gunned down earlier this month in an attack that authorities say was politically motivated. The couple lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda, a rare and emotional ceremony ahead of a private funeral planned for Saturday.
For hours, a line of silent, mourning citizens formed, winding from Capitol Square to the interior of the building, where two coffins adorned with flowers welcomed visitors. Two portraits framed the scene, while an urn containing the ashes of their golden retriever, Gilbert, also shot in the attack and euthanized shortly after, was placed between the coffins, along with a photo of the animal.
Joe Biden, who arrived late in the afternoon, was received alone in the rotunda after the public had been evacuated for security reasons. The former Democratic president paused for a few moments in reverence before the coffins of the congresswoman and her husband, before leaving without making a statement. Shortly after his departure, the rotunda reopened to the public, and tributes resumed until the scheduled closing at 17 p.m.
Melissa Hortman, leader of the Democratic Party in the Minnesota House of Representatives, thus becomes the first woman to lie in state in the rotunda of the State Capitol. Her husband, Mark Hortman, is the first civilian—other than military personnel and senior government officials—to receive such a tribute, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
The suspect in the attack, Vance Boelter, 57, was posing as a police officer when he murdered the Hortmans at their home on June 14. He is also accused of opening fire on Democratic Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their nearby home. Both survived their injuries. The motive, which investigators believe was politically motivated, raises serious concerns about the safety of elected officials in the United States in a climate of growing polarization.
