Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman will lie in state in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda on Friday while the man charged with killing her and her husband, and wounding a state senator and his wife, is due in court.

Hortman, a Democrat, will be the first woman and one of fewer than 20 Minnesotans accorded the honor. She will lie in state with her husband, Mark, and their golden retriever, Gilbert. Her husband was also killed in the June 14 attack, and Gilbert was seriously wounded and had to be euthanized.

The public can pay their respects from noon to 5 p.m. Friday. House TV will livestream the viewing. A private funeral is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The service will be livestreamed on the Department of Public Safety’s YouTube channel.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris will fly to Minnesota for the funeral but won’t have a speaking role, according to her personal office. Harris expressed her condolences this past week to Hortman’s adult children, and spoke with Gov. Tim Walz, her 2024 running mate, who extended an invitation on behalf of the Hortman family, her office said.

The man accused of killing the Hortmans and wounding another Democrat lawmaker and his wife is due in court Friday to face charges for what the chief federal prosecutor for Minnesota has called “a political assassination.” Vance Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, surrendered near his home the night of June 15 after what authorities have called the largest search in Minnesota history.

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Tagged: Politics BACK TO HOMEPAGE