Biden pays respects as former Minnesota House Speaker Hortman, killed in shooting, lies in state

ST PAUL Minn AP Former President Joe Biden joined thousands of mourners Friday as former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman lay in state in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda while the man charged with killing her and her husband and wounding a state senator and his wife made a brief court appearance in a suicide prevention suit Hortman a Democrat is the first woman and one of fewer than Minnesotans accorded the honor She lay in state with her husband Mark and their golden retriever Gilbert Her husband was also killed in the June attack and Gilbert was seriously wounded and had to be euthanized It was the first time a couple has lain in state at the Capitol and the first time for a dog The scene at the Capitol The Hortmans caskets and the dog s urn were arranged in the center of the rotunda under the Capitol dome with law enforcement officers keeping watch on either side as thousands of people who lined up filed by A multitude of fought back tears as they left Among the first to pay their respects were Gov Tim Walz who has called Hortman his closest political ally and his wife Gwen Biden a Catholic visited later in the afternoon walking up to the velvet rope in front of the caskets making the sign of the cross and spending a inadequate moments by himself in silence He then took a knee briefly got up made the sign of the cross again and walked off to greet people waiting in the wings of the rotunda Gov Tim Walz and his wife Gwen pay their respects as state Rep Melissa Hortman her husband Mark and their dog Gilbert lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda on Friday June Credit Alex Kormann Star Tribune via AP The Capitol was open for the society from noon to p m Friday but executives reported anyone waiting in line at would be let in House TV livestreamed the viewing A private funeral is set for a m Saturday and will be livestreamed on the Department of Constituents Safety s YouTube channel Biden will attend the funeral a spokesperson stated So will former Vice President Kamala Harris though neither is expected to speak Harris expressed her condolences earlier this week to Hortman s adult children and spoke with Walz her running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket who extended an invitation on behalf of the Hortman family her office noted Lisa Greene who lives in Brooklyn Park like Hortman did but in a different House district declared she came to the Capitol because she had so much respect for the former speaker She was just amazing Amazing woman And I was just so proud that she represented the city that I lived in Greene noted in a voice choked with emotion She was such a leader She could bring people together She was so accessible I mean she was friendly you could talk to her But she went on to say admiringly Hortman was also a boss She just knew what she was doing and she could just make things happen Mourners line up outside the Capitol where state Rep Melissa Hortman her husband Mark and their dog Gilbert lie in state June Credit Alex Kormann Star Tribune via AP A hearing takes a twist The man accused of killing the Hortmans and wounding another Democratic lawmaker and his wife made a short court appearance Friday to face charges for what the chief federal prosecutor for Minnesota has called a political assassination Vance Boelter of Green Isle surrendered near his home the night of June after what officials have called the largest search in Minnesota history An unshaven Boelter was brought in wearing just a green padded suicide prevention suit and orange slippers Federal defender Manny Atwal petitioned Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko to continue the hearing until Thursday She stated Boelter has been sleep deprived while on suicide watch in the Sherburne County Jail and that it has been complex to communicate with him as a end Your honor I haven t really slept in about to days Boelter reported the judge And he denied being suicidal I ve never been suicidal and I am not suicidal now Related Minnesota likely knew nothing of Boelter s gun arsenal and that s the law Atwal communicated the court that Boelter had been in what s known as a Gumby suit without undergarments ever since his transfer to the jail after his first court appearance on June She explained the lights are on in his area hours a day doors slam frequently the inmate in the next cell spreads feces on the walls and the smell drifts to Boelter s cell The attorney revealed transferring him to segregation instead and giving him a normal jail uniform would let him get specific sleep restore specific dignity and let him communicate better The judge agreed Prosecutors did not object to the delay and explained they also had concerns about the jail conditions The acting U S attorney for Minnesota Joseph Thompson explained reporters afterward that he did not think Boelter had attempted to kill himself The incident continues Boelter did not enter a plea Prosecutors need to secure a grand jury indictment first before his arraignment which is when a plea is normally entered According to the federal complaint police video shows Boelter outside the Hortmans home and captures the sound of gunfire And it says defense video shows Boelter approaching the front doors of two other lawmakers homes dressed as a police officer Related Pizza terrorism online vitriol and now murder Lawmakers fear for their safety and don t know how to change that His lawyers have declined to comment on the charges which could carry the federal death penalty Thompson announced last week that no decision has been made Minnesota abolished its death penalty in The Death Penalty Information Center says a federal death penalty episode hasn t been prosecuted in Minnesota in the modern era as best as it can tell Boelter also faces separate murder and attempted murder charges in state court that could carry life without parole assuming that county prosecutors get their own indictment for first-degree murder But federal government intend to use their power to try Boelter first Former President Joe Biden in the state Capitol where state Rep Melissa Hortman her husband Mark and their dog Gilbert lie in state June Other casualties and alleged targets Leadership say Boelter shot and wounded Democratic state Sen John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home in Champlin before shooting and killing the Hortmans in their home in the northern Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park a limited miles away Federal prosecutors allege Boelter also stopped at the homes of two other Democratic lawmakers Prosecutors also say he listed dozens of other Democrats as expected targets including leaders in other states Friends described Boelter as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views But prosecutors have declined so far to speculate on a motive The post Biden pays respects as former Minnesota House Speaker Hortman killed in shooting lies in state appeared first on MinnPost