Jessie Ebertz held tears as she was standing before a fortune memorial honoring democratic politician Melissa Hortman and her husband who were killed last week.
“Minnesota has felt a bit like a refuge,” said Ebertz, an employee of the government who lives in the state capital, “because we have been able to keep our atmosphere of respect for each other.”
“It has brought it to water.”
The death of Hortman and her husband, Mark, sent a shock wave through the state. They were slaughtered early Saturday morning by a man disguised as a police officer.
Democratic state legislator John Hoffman and his wife were also injured – they should survive.
But the attacks, which seem politically motivated, have seriously shaken the reputation of the state in matters of politeness, courtesy and respect, an attitude which has its own nickname and Wikipedia Page: “Minnesota Nice”.
Prosecutors say that the suspect Vance Boelter also visited two other houses early Saturday in search of politicians.
The greatest hunting for the state of the state ended late Sunday when Boelter was captured near his home in a rural area dotted with farms, gravel roads and small villages about an hour from the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul.
Many have pointed out that Ms. Hortman was known for her ability to work with Republican colleagues, including recently to pass a state -of -the -art vote.
On Monday, the local radio station speech, WCCO, replayed one of its latest interviews, carried out jointly with republican colleagues, where, among others, they discussed what they could do if they were going together.
The idea that this friendly state at the top of the Midwest could avoid political resentment which is more frequently in violence elsewhere is an illusion, explains Jenna Stocker, editor of Thinking Minnesota, publication published by the conservative Think Tank Center of the American Experiment.
The Center office was bombed last year in what the leaders of the reflection group qualified a political motivation attack. No one has been accused of the crime.
“Some people, even here in Minnesota, have really left politics to guide their thoughts and what they think of their neighbors, their friends and their loved ones,” said Ms. Storing.
In extreme cases, this has led to extreme actions. Several recent studies indicate that political violence is developing through the United States, reaching a level not seen since the 1970s.
Reuters counted more than 300 cases of politically motivated violence since the CAPITOL riot of January 2021. A study in 2023 of the Brennan Center for Justice, a left institute, revealed that 40% of the legislators of the States had experienced threats or attacks in the previous three years.
Despite generalized fears, partially fed by two assassination attempts against Donald Trump and the 2221 American Capitol riot, there was no large -scale violence at the time of the November 2024 presidential election.
But relations have been tense since this vote.
In April, the residence of the Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, a democrat, was burned. Politics seems to have motivated the so -called killers of a health executive in New York and two Israeli embassy employees in Washington.
In Washington, members of the US Congress were to obtain security information sessions this week.
Here in Minnesota, in the meantime, many people deplore what attacks against state politicians mean in a place that prides themselves on its opening and its ability to avoid the wickedness of national politics.
Despite the brutality of recent attacks, inside the Capitol building, there was little visible sign of heavy safety – and no metal detectors – Monday afternoon.
Among the people in mourning, several of Hortman’s relatives set flowers in front of the room of the State House, where a table was loaded with bouquets and signs reading the “change of request” and “rest in power”.
Between the cameras of Nouvelles and the Flowers, a group walked in the building on a guided tour and the legislative officials did their work in a strange Hush.
But as people were crying here, the partisan arguments continued.
President Trump said on Tuesday that he would not call the Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, Democratic candidate Vice-Presidential in last year’s elections, calling him “mess”.
“The guy has no idea,” he told journalists.
In the wake of the attacks, many of Trump’s main supporters and allies – including Utah senator, Mike Lee, Elon Musk, conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer and activist Charlie Kirk – tried without proof of connecting Walz and Democratic legislators.
Lee wrote: “This is what happens when the Marxists are not making their way” while Musk republished a message including a line on attacks with the comment “The extreme left is violent murderous”.
The two men, who did not respond to requests for comments, seem to have been sucked in by conspiracy theories that float online.
Many have pointed out the fact that Walz and a former Democratic governor had appointed the suspect to a post on a state economic council.
However, Boelter was a supporter of President Trump who had conservative opinions, according to interviews with friends and neighbors. According to the evidence revealed by the authorities, his long target list included democratic and progressive legislators, and he had leaflets with information on “No Kings” anti-top gatherings that occurred in St Paul and other cities of the country on Saturday.
Although the exact reason is still under investigation, evidence indicated that the suspect was aimed at the opponents of the president and the politicians of the Left Party and the Democratic Party.
“It’s terrifying,” said Kameko White, a neighbor who lived near one of the suspect’s houses in North Minneapolis, who was attacked by police on Saturday.
“I saw this man every day in his court,” said Ms. White. “The other day, I saw it outside smoking and writing something in a notebook.”
Although Mr. Boelter’s capture has given a certain relief here, discussions on Minnesota shot have turned to what can be done to cool the political temperature and prevent future attacks.
Ms. Storing, the editor of Minnesota’s thought, said “there are good people here” and noted that the vast majority of minnesotans rejected violence.
However, an increase in “altered” and stormy rhetoric makes her pessimistic about the chances of peace so early.
“It will take a whole generation of people to say that we are not going to take this anymore and it must simply stop,” she said.
“I think we need young people to get up and say that we are just not going to defend him.”