
On Saturday morning, June 14, reporters were busy covering President Donald Trump’s military/birthday parade in Washington, DC and the many No Kings Day protests opposing it when some shocking news came out of Minnesota: State Sens. John Hoffman and Melissa Hortman, both Democrats, had been shot in their homes.
Gov. Tim Walz, at a press conference, told reporters, “This was an act of targeted political violence.” According to Minnesota officials, a manhunt was underway for a suspect — who impersonated law enforcement and drove a vehicle that was made to look like a police car. The suspect, they said, had a “manifesto” in the vehicle and what looked like a hit list of people who were targeted for attack.
Early that Saturday afternoon — as the No Kings Day protests were underway in a long list of U.S. cities and the developments in Minnesota continued to unfold — the Daily Beast’s Erkki Forster reported that “just months ago,” analysts at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “warned that high-profile officials were increasingly ‘vulnerable to attack’ at their own homes as potential attackers shift away from traditional targets such as government buildings and corporate offices.”
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That warning, Forster noted, was made in a “confidential memo obtained by ABC News.”
Forster explains, “Noting ‘recent uptick in online messaging promoting attacks at their homes, doxing and swatting incidents, and several notable attacks,’ the memo, which leaked in March, described an escalating threat from potential attackers targeting public figures where they live. Private homes often lack more ‘robust security measures’ and are ‘accessible with limited obstacles,’ the memo suggested. The DHS analysts also pointed to ‘overall increased political polarization’ and ‘the prevalence of conspiracy theories targeting industry and government officials,’ adding that the complex mix of motives makes it harder for law enforcement to detect and disrupt plots.”
While Hortman was killed, Hoffman survived and underwent surgery. Doctors reportedly expressed optimism he would survive.
Forster notes, “Police were called to Hoffman’s home at around 2 a.m. local time and provided life-saving measures to the state senator and his wife before they were transported to a hospital, CNN reports. Around 3:35 a.m., officers conducting a proactive check on Hortman’s home were fired upon by a man exiting the residence. The gunman fled on foot during the ensuing shootout.”
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