'Pennsylvania stands with you': Gov. Josh Shapiro, delegation condemn political violence in Minnesota

Benjamin Kail, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jun 16, 2025

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PITTSBURGH — Just two months after an arsonist attacked Gov. Josh Shapiro's Harrisburg residence, Shapiro and Western Pennsylvania lawmakers found themselves condemning the shooting of two Minnesota legislators and their spouses, and offering support as political violence continues to rattle the nation.

Vance Boelter, 57, who was captured Sunday after an expansive manhunt, faces federal murder charges in the killing of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, along with attempted murder charges for allegedly shooting and wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

Minnesota law enforcement officials say they obtained a notebook of Boelter's containing about 70 potential targets in Minnesota and neighboring states, including politicians, business leaders, Planned Parenthood centers and more.

The shootings came after April's arson attack on Shapiro and his family, along with last year's two assassination attempts against President Donald Trump, one of them at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa.

Shapiro said in a statement that he spoke directly with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over the weekend to offer prayers and support.

"To the people of Minnesota: Pennsylvania stands with you," Shapiro added. "Leaders across our country must speak and act with the moral clarity this moment demands. This is unacceptable — we all have a responsibility to stand up and work to defeat the political violence that is tearing through our country. America is better than this."

The governor said he also spoke with Pennsylvania's House and Senate leadership in Harrisburg to offer his administration's support "in the aftermath of these horrific shootings."

Shapiro was among the many bipartisan leaders nationwide denouncing not only the shootings in Minnesota but a wave of political violence in recent years that also includes the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6; an attack on former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul; a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; and a shooting that left Republican Rep. Steve Scalise and others injured in 2017. Last month, two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed outside a Jewish museum in Washington.

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, called the killing of Hortman and attack on Hoffman "unconscionable."

"Public service should never be a death threat," she said in a post on X Sunday. "Praying for their families. There must be a swift investigation."

Similarly, Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, described the attack on the Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses as horrific.

"I grieve for their families and am heartbroken that such violence and a political assassination are a reality in our country today," he said on X Sunday. "This political violence must end — it has no place in America."

Freshman Republican Sen. Dave McCormick asked followers on social media to join him and his wife, Dina Powell McCormick, in praying for the lawmakers and their families, and for "the end of politically-motivated violence across our nation."

"It is a violation of the very principles this country was founded on," McCormick wrote. "These dangerous acts must be unequivocally condemned and prosecuted, regardless of political affiliation."

Trump told ABC News on Sunday that he may call Walz in the wake of the shootings, though he criticized the Minnesota governor and former Democratic vice presidential nominee as "grossly incompetent."

"Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America," the president said. "God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place."

Walz, who has described the shootings an "act of targeted political violence," spoke with Vice President JD Vance about the shootings and coordination between federal, state and local law enforcement, ABC News reported.

Joe Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, told reporters at a news conference Monday that Boelter "embarked on a planned campaign of stalking and violence, designed to inflict fear, injure and kill members of the Minnesota state legislature and their families."

Lew Irwin, who teaches politics and government at Duquesne University, told the Post-Gazette in April that divides between American political factions have existed and risen to the point of occasional violence since the country's founding, with polarization reaching its highest point just before the Civil War.

"What's particularly concerning now," he said, "is that we're seeing increasing levels of animosity between the two tribes in America today, [and an] increasing number of violent acts motivated by political differences."