Democrat Power Broker Assassinated Hours After Dinner With Sen. Klobuchar – Suspect Linked to Anti-Trump Protests

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar reportedly shared a final meal with Melissa Hortman, the recently retired Speaker of the Minnesota House, just hours before Hortman and her husband were brutally murdered in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday morning.

The double homicide, which authorities are describing as a “politically motivated assassination,” has rocked Minnesota’s political class and raised urgent questions about escalating domestic political violence.

Klobuchar said she was awakened by a 5 a.m. phone call from Governor Tim Walz with the devastating news. “I wish everyone had known her like we knew her,” she told Politico, recalling the early days of Hortman’s political rise. “She was pretty no-nonsense. But in a kind way, with a lot of humor.”

Melissa Hortman had served as Speaker of the Minnesota House from 2019 to January 2025. She and her husband, Mark, were killed by a man authorities identified as 57-year-old Vance Boelter—who was once appointed to a state board by Gov. Walz himself. In a chilling twist, Boelter disguised himself as a police officer to carry out the attack and left behind a manifesto naming over 70 political figures, including Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and multiple federal lawmakers.

Though Sen. Klobuchar’s name was reportedly not on Boelter’s target list, she had dined with Hortman just hours before the fatal ambush.

Adding another disturbing layer, law enforcement said Boelter had “No Kings” flyers in his car—referencing anti-Trump protests that erupted nationwide on the same day. While the Biden-era media framed these demonstrations as spontaneous expressions of dissent, many observers now see a pattern of rising leftist radicalism fanned by irresponsible rhetoric and unchecked lawlessness.

Boelter is also accused of shooting Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, later that same evening. Miraculously, the couple survived. Following a two-day manhunt, Boelter was captured on Sunday night.

“After a two-day manhunt and two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended Vance Boelter,” Governor Walz announced at a press briefing—glossing over his prior connection to the killer.

Senator Klobuchar, reflecting on her decades-long friendship with Hortman, described her as someone who could “bring people together” while managing a household, serving in office, and even leading a Girl Scout troop. The New York Post noted that Hortman juggled these duties while also teaching Sunday school—a far cry from the radical, career-climbing progressives of today's Democratic Party.

Klobuchar shared a story about how Hortman, upon becoming Speaker, removed the mute button her predecessor used to silence opposition. “She’s like ‘I don’t need that. I can use the gavel,’” Klobuchar said, highlighting her colleague’s more open governing style.

Despite her left-of-center politics, Hortman’s assassination has renewed focus on a troubling trend of political violence that Democrats themselves long ignored or downplayed—until the threats began reaching their own doors.

“I hope good people still run or our democracy won’t stand,” Klobuchar told Politico. On CNN’s State of the Union, she warned, “With threats against members of Congress in 2016, there were like 1,700 of them. Last year, over 9,000 of them.”

The violence has led Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to request immediate security upgrades for Klobuchar and Senator Tina Smith, who is expected to retire.

Ironically, this comes just days after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was tackled and handcuffed by Department of Homeland Security officers after he charged into a press conference held by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles. Video shows Padilla shouting questions while failing to initially identify himself. Supporters of the DHS officers argue their swift action was entirely justified—especially in light of the recent violence against both elected officials and federal law enforcement.

For all their talk of "unity" and "tolerance," Democrats now find themselves reaping the whirlwind of political instability and unchecked extremism that has festered in recent years. And as security ramps up around Capitol Hill, the broader question remains: What will it take for Democrats to admit that violence on their own side of the aisle can be just as dangerous?