Minnesota Senate advances bill boosting security at the capitol, providing additional protection for lawmakers facing threats

A new protective services unit could be dispatched to provide security for Minnesota lawmakers and other state elected officials facing credible threats under a bill that cleared the state Senate on Monday.

The measure also includes boosted funding to maintain the fortified Capitol building, where there are now fewer public entrances and metal detectors for weapons screening before anyone can get inside.

The vote came just two days after a gunman charged the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, targeting Trump administration officials in the latest instance of political violence in the country. The Legislature is still reeling from the assassination of former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their homes last June. Authorities say 90 minutes before their killing, the same man pretending to be a cop shot and wounded Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.

The push to strengthen security on and off Capitol grounds comes as elected officials are increasingly facing more danger in recent years. The Minnesota State Patrol, which oversees Capitol security, told a security panel last fall that the number of threats against state officials had more than doubled from 2024 to 2025.

"It's sad, but our democracy depends on our political disagreements being solved through the work we do here, not through violence," Hoffman said of the legislation that passed the Senate. "This bill is an important step, Mr. President, to make sure that all of us can participate in this great democracy and this great democratic experiment."

The Minnesota House is also closer to a floor vote on a similar proposal that would earmark more money for these heightened security measures.

This story will be updated.