Minnesota Capitol candlelight vigil set for Melissa and Mark Hortman

Kristi Miller, Pioneer Press on Jun 17, 2025

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — A candlelight vigil in remembrance of Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman will be held Wednesday on the steps of the State Capitol after the couple was slain in what authorities are calling a political assassination in their Brooklyn Park home.

The vigil will be held from 8 to 9:30 p.m. and will not have a slate of speakers. People are asked to bring their own candles and not to bring signs of any kind. The Capitol building will be closed to the public during the vigil.

The Hortmans were shot and killed early Saturday, about 90 minutes after a gunman also shot and injured Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in Champlin. Between the two shootings the gunman stopped at legislators’ homes in Maple Grove and New Hope. He found no one home in Maple Grove and was interrupted by a police officer in New Hope.

Fundraising accounts have been set up for both families.

A memorial for the Hortmans has been created outside the Capitol and includes flowers, American flags, photos and handwritten messages.

Gov. Tim Walz ordered on Saturday the U.S. and Minnesota flags be flown at half staff in remembrance of Hortman, saying “Hortman was a formidable public servant and a fixture of the state Capitol, who woke up every morning determined to make Minnesota a better place … remembered for her compassion, grace, humor, and sense of service. She is irreplaceable and her death is a monumental loss. The state extends its prayers and deepest condolences to her friends, family, and loved ones.”

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