Discussions are underway over how to bolster security at the Minnesota State Capitol after the assassination and attempted assassination of two state lawmakers in June.
Following the deaths of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the shooting of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher is calling for metal detectors at the Capitol and a review of how lawmakers were notified that they may have been in danger on the day of the attacks. He sent letters outlining his recommendations and criticisms to the head of Capitol Security and House Chief Sergeant-at-Arms.
State public safety officials have pushed back some, saying Fletcher’s timeline for notifying lawmakers is inaccurate.
Implementing security recommendations from Fletcher and others falls under the purview of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security. It has not yet met since the shootings, but the group’s chair, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, said on X that the committee will work with law enforcement “to ensure that the Capitol will continue to be a safe place for the important work that happens here.”
Fletcher, a former Vadnais Heights mayor and St. Paul city council member, joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition to talk about his vision for Capitol security.
The following has been lightly edited for clarity. Listen to the conversation by clicking the player button above.
What increased security do you think is needed at the Minnesota Capitol?
I’ve outlined for the Legislature how the Capitol Complex could be secured with four or five entrances. And the technology today is so great. We’ve used it for 20 years at our courthouse. Ramsey County was the first courthouse to have security in Minnesota. We put it at the State Fair. You can move large volumes of people through metal detection without any impingement on their freedom.
And to be honest, legislators whom I’ve talked to, the public, they would prefer to be inside a Capitol that they know is safe. In fact, I’ll steal a line from Twin Cities Public Television reporter Mary Lahammer, who said recently, “You can’t have public service if the elected officials are afraid to go out in public.”
I think it’s really a good point. Let’s have a safe environment inside the Capitol. They can meet with legislators. Legislators do not have to worry about hiding in halls. And the time has come.
Do you think past hesitancy over using metal detectors has softened a bit, given current events?
Well, I sure hope so. The governor indicated a willingness to put some security in. It really, though, is the job of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security, headed by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and five other legislators, to make that recommendation, and the Legislature has given them that authority. It’s also the job of the Public Safety Commissioner to offer recommendations.
Yes, I think people have recognized that need in today’s world. The last three years in American politics, we’ve seen serious polarization and actors who are willing to carry out threats of violence, whether it’s the arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s house, the assassination attempts on President Trump, the Paul Pelosi victimization.
There are more and more actors willing to do that, and we need to stay ahead of the times.
The most recent bonding bill earmarked $2 million for security. What does that buy?
Well, not enough. It’s probably a $10 million project. And then, of course, some staffing, a reallocation of staffing. The Legislature has approved security systems for legislators’ homes. That was a good plus. Some of them have implemented cameras.
But it isn't just that. I've had many calls from people who are afraid to go to Fourth of July parades, and they want security to actually walk in a parade. We can't have a reflective response of government if our elected officials are afraid to be out in public.
Who’s in charge of telling lawmakers they’re in danger, and what needs to change regarding security outside of the Capitol?
Well, that was the purpose of my letter to determine whose job that is. On Wednesday, we had a debriefing with the public safety commissioner. There were 150 sheriffs and police chiefs who were on the call, and the primary issue that was raised was notification, delay in notification and what type of information got out.
The commissioner committed to doing an after-action report about the Hortman and Hoffman shootings and a study to determine how notification could be improved.
That’s all we want. We want it improved. I believe that there’s total confusion as to whose job that is. As an example, we didn’t get a call till 6:45 a.m. that there was a shooting. I attempted to get the names of those who were on an alleged hit list. We didn’t get an email from the sergeant at arms with the names of our suburban legislators till 7:57.
Thankfully, though, I had a call into Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent Drew Evans, and he gave me many of those names between 7 and 8 o’clock so we could get security out to their homes. I have an email sent to all the DFL senators that they didn’t get notified till 6:42, and when they did get notified, it wasn’t information about not answering your door if someone was pretending to be a police officer.
So there is improvement. I think we’ll make it. Hopefully, the commissioner can come to a consensus on how this will be handled in the future. But there are all sorts of technologies available now to ping people’s phones, just like a tornado alert, to let them know there is a danger and they should call or read a text. So we just need to get better.
