Georgia lawmakers are joining a growing chorus of national voices condemning political violence after a
deadly shooting in Minnesota
claimed the lives of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and left State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife hospitalized.
Today, Georgia Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II (D–Augusta) and the Senate Democratic Caucus issued a statement expressing shock and grief over what Minnesota authorities are calling a “politically motivated assassination.”
The statement comes after Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park home by a man impersonating a police officer. Hoffman and his wife were also shot in a separate attack. They remain hospitalized.
“The Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus is horrified and heartbroken by this morning’s attack on two patriotic public servants and their spouses,” the statement read. “Their entire families are in our prayers today as we await more information. We hope law enforcement can quickly find those responsible and bring them to justice.”
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also released a statement condemning the attacks.
“There is no place in America for political violence of any kind,” Kemp said. “The news of the assassination of one Minnesota lawmaker and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife is both horrific and terrible for the entire country.”
Kemp asked Georgians to join in prayer for the victims’ families, friends, and colleagues, “as well as the law enforcement hunting down the madman responsible for this tragedy.”
The shooter, identified by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, remains at large.
A manhunt is underway in Minnesota, where the state’s governor, Tim Walz, described the events as an unprecedented act of domestic political violence. Law enforcement officials say the suspect was impersonating a police officer and had a hit list naming elected officials, including Hortman and Hoffman.
Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock called the shootings “Horrifying,” saying violence is never the answer. “We must stand together and reject political violence in every form. America is better than this,” Warnock said.
Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns said he was in contact with law enforcement and monitoring the situation for any potential threats in Georgia, according to AJC.
“There is absolutely no room for this kind of violence and hatred in our nation, and we must all remain united in our commitment to condemn and root out these acts of evil whenever and wherever they occur,” Burns said.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the president of the Georgia Senate, also weighed in: “A crime against anyone for their political beliefs is reprehensible.”
In their statement, Georgia Democrats condemned the broader implications of such violence.
“Political violence has no place in our democracy. Gun violence has no place in our country,” the caucus declared. “We stand firm in our conviction that political violence has no place in American democracy. And we condemn any person who urges the use of force or violence to solve any political dispute.”
The caucus ended its statement by urging Georgians and Americans across the country to remain “safe, calm, and peaceful” in the days ahead.
