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

Minnesota lawmakers and other state elected officials facing credible threats could receive special security under a bill that cleared the state Senate on Monday.

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

Lawmakers in Minnesota voted on the legislation just two days after White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington D.C., when prosecutors say a 31-year-old man tried to shoot Trump administration officials in the latest instance of political violence in the country. 

Meanwhile, the Legislature is still grappling with the assassination of former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their Brooklyn Park home last summer, 90 minutes after a man authorities say pretended to be a cop shot and wounded DFL Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette inside their Champlin residence.

The push to strengthen security on and off Capitol grounds also 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. 

The new special protective services unit would fall under the State Patrol and act as a clearinghouse for security for the Legislature, from coordinating the personnel to assessing threats. If there is an immediate threat to lawmakers or other elected officials holding constitutional offices, the troopers would provide protection.

"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 broad safety package also includes a provision requiring the removal of insignia from any decommissioned police or public safety vehicles before the public can purchase them. The accused assassin charged with killing the Hortmans and shooting the Hoffmans allegedly posed as law enforcement that night and drove what looked like a cop car. 

The legislation passed with broad bipartisan support in the Senate, but some Republicans rejected the bill, opposing earmarking millions more to maintain the fortified Capitol and equip it with the staff necessary to keep the screenings going.

"This is self-indulging in ourselves to bring forward a false sense of security because we spend 95% of our time elsewhere," said Sen. Steve Drazkowski, R-Winona, who suggested the funding would be better spent training members on how to handle firearms so they can have a permit to carry.

Hoffman fired back at Drazkowski's comments in a passionate plea for his colleagues to support it. 

"This bill is not selfish. You know what's selfish — the dude who dropped 26 bullets in my house, eight through my wife, nine through me. Do the math after that. He did it with a police vehicle that looked like a police vehicle. That's selfish," the senator said.

Hoffman and his family are suing Vance Boelter — who faces six federal criminal counts — for the emotional, physical and financial toll of the incident.

The Minnesota House is also closer to a floor vote on a similar proposal that would boost funding for these heightened security measures after clearing a final committee Monday.