{"id":1053562,"date":"2025-06-14T11:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1053562"},"modified":"2025-06-15T09:29:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T13:29:13","slug":"statement-from-dnc-chair-ken-martin-on-the-targeted-murder-of-minnesota-speaker-emerita-melissa-hortman-and-the-shooting-of-senator-john-hoffman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/statement-from-dnc-chair-ken-martin-on-the-targeted-murder-of-minnesota-speaker-emerita-melissa-hortman-and-the-shooting-of-senator-john-hoffman\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement from DNC Chair Ken Martin on the Targeted Murder of Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and the Shooting of Senator John Hoffman\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin issued the following statement:&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis morning, like so many Minnesotans, my heart is broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy family \u2014 and our entire DFL community \u2014 are devastated to learn of the targeted, senseless murders of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, along with the attack on Senator John Hoffman and Yvette Hoffman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMelissa, Mark, John, and Yvette \u2014 these are not just names, and this is not just politics. These are people. They\u2019re longtime friends to me and Jenn and so many others in Minnesota. They have children, loved ones, neighbors, and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSpeaker Hortman was a leader in every sense of the word \u2014 from ushering in free lunch for our kids, to protecting women\u2019s rights and reproductive care, to standing up for Minnesota families. She led our state legislature with humor, grace, and determination to get things done for Minnesotans across the state. She wasn\u2019t only a leader \u2014 she was a damn good legislator and Minnesotans everywhere will suffer because of this loss.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMelissa was also a close friend whom I&#8217;ve known since the very start of her political career. She was someone I personally relied on for advice, counsel, and friendship and I am beyond words. As I said many times when I introduced her at events, she is the very best Speaker of the House that Minnesota has ever had.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJenn and I also pray for the swift recoveries of Senator John Hoffman and Yvette Hoffman, and thank the medical personnel who operated quickly and tended to their injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor the Hortmans\u2019 family, friends, loved ones, for the DFL community, and for all Minnesotans, our souls ache today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis senseless violence must end. These heinous murders are a reflection of the extremism and political violence that have been fomented in our country. Lawmakers should be able to do their job without fear for their lives. I thank the law enforcement officers and first responders for their ongoing efforts to catch the perpetrator who committed this heinous act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cToday, we recommit ourselves to fight harder for the values that Melissa and Mark embodied \u2014 building a kinder, more just, and loving world. If this murderer thinks we will be silenced, he\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin issued the following statement:&nbsp; \u201cThis morning, like so many Minnesotans, my heart is broken. \u201cMy family \u2014 and our entire DFL community \u2014 are devastated to learn of the targeted, senseless murders of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, along with the attack on Senator John [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1053562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Statement from DNC Chair Ken Martin on the Targeted Murder of Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and the Shooting of Senator John Hoffman\u00a0 - 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