Former President Biden joins mourners as Melissa Hortman lies in state
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President Biden made an unannounced visit to the public memorial Friday. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Former President Biden joined a steady stream of mourners who visited the Minnesota State Capitol Friday to pay their respects to slain former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.
The big picture: The influential Democratic legislator, who was shot and killed alongside her husband at her home in what officials have called a politically motivated assassination, was the first woman to lie in state in Minnesota.
- Prosecutors say the attacks, which also left another state senator and his wife injured, were part of a broader plot by alleged gunman Vance Boelter to harm Democratic lawmakers.
Zoom in: The line outside the State Capitol stretched the length of the Capitol lawn and around the block Friday afternoon, with hundreds waiting to enter at any given time.
- Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen, who grew close to the Hortmans over his last six years in office, were among the first to attend the public viewing hours.
- Many visitors, including legislators from both parties, appeared overcome with emotion as they approached the wooden caskets adorned with flowers in the center of the Rotunda.
- An urn containing the remains of the Hortmans' golden retriever Gilbert, who was gravely injured in the attack and later euthanized, sat between the couple.
Inside the room: Some mourners dressed in tribute to the longtime Democratic House Leader, wearing pins or shirts featuring her "LFG" — "Let's f***cking go — political rallying cry.
- Golden retrievers waited in the wings as part of the honor guard.
What's next: Biden, who visited injured Sen. John Hoffman at the hospital earlier Friday, and former Vice President Kamala Harris are both expected to attend a private funeral for the Hortmans in the Twin Cities on Saturday morning, per The Associated Press.
- The funeral will be livestreamed here.
Editor's note: This story was updated with funeral details.