A private funeral for former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark will be held Saturday, following a day where thousands of people and a former U.S. president paid their respects at a Capitol tribute.
The funeral will be aired live on MPR News and streamed at mprnews.org. But it is not open to the general public.
It comes two weeks after the couple was shot and killed in their home by a man authorities say posed as a police officer and who is accused of targeting multiple lawmakers he disagreed with. The man faces state and federal murder charges in the Hortman slaying and for wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
Gov. Tim Walz, lawmakers from both parties, legislative staff and friends and family of the Hortmans will be at the funeral. Former President Joe Biden is expected to be in attendance. He made a brief visit to Minnesota’s Capitol on Friday where the Hortmans had lain in state along with their dog Gilbert, a golden retriever who died from the shooting at the family home.
Biden paused in front of the casket, doing the sign of the cross before looking at the photo of Melissa Hortman, a former Minnesota House speaker. He bowed his head and knelt before the photo of the couple together.
The Associated Press is reporting that former Vice President Kamala Harris will be attending the funeral as well.
The funeral follows a day of remembrance for the Hortmans. In addition to Walz and Biden, thousands filed past the casket throughout the afternoon after waiting in a line that snaked around the Capitol much of the day; in the morning, Hortman family and colleagues gathered for a private viewing.
Many of those lawmakers who served with Hortman stuck around and served as greeters for the public, offering hugs and stories of the late leader or a shoulder to cry on.
A sprawling memorial continued to grow outside the entrance to the House chamber. It has post-it notes addressed to the Hortmans, flowers, campaign memorabilia, photos of the couple and dog treats.
One floor down, visitors paused at two caskets surrounded by potted trees and ferns and photos in large frames. There were tri-folded state and U.S. flags in front of them. In between the caskets was an urn with dog paw prints. It held the ashes of Gilbert.
Some in the line outside the Capitol had met the Hortmans through their work and personal lives. Others waited for hours to pay respects to people they had never met.
Dick Ottman was among them.
“This lady has done an awful lot for the state of Minnesota, she’s demonstrated something that is very good in public service. She”s demonstrated to be a public servant. She isn't in it, and wasn't in it for just glory or for money,” Ottman said. “She wanted to make the world a better place. Those kind of people deserve our respect.”
Brianna Haloran came from St. Cloud with her three kids, who each held a red rose. Haloran said Hortman’s legacy of championing policies like free school lunch and paid family and medical leave have had an impact on her family.
“I’m a single mom. I’m a working mom. We’re low income. You know, my kids go to a title one school, and I just want them to recognize that there’s always someone behind the scenes working for Minnesotans, and we want to honor that today,” she said.
Former state Rep. Jennifer Schultz, a Democrat from Duluth, waited in line to pay her respects with a bouquet of flowers in hand. She said she fears the shooting could put a damper on public service for would-be candidates.
“A lot of people don’t want to run, not just because of threats, but just because of the chaos and the polarization and really the disrespect of working in government because so so so many people have put forward this negative view of government,” Schultz said. “But people need to realize that government is people. It is us, all of us.”
MPR News producer Ellie Roth contributed to this story.
