“Minnesota has been like a safe haven,” said Ms Ebertz, a government employee who lives in the state capital, “because we’ve been able to maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect here.”
“This has completely shattered that sense of security.”
The death of Hortman and her husband, Mark, has shocked the state. They were shot dead early Saturday morning by a man disguised as a police officer.
Democratic state lawmaker John Hoffman and his wife were also injured – they are expected to survive.
But the attacks, which seem politically motivated, have damaged the state’s reputation for politeness, courtesy, and respect – an attitude known as “Minnesota nice.”
Prosecutors say the suspect Vance Boelter also visited two other homes early Saturday, looking for politicians.
The state’s largest manhunt ended late Sunday when Boelter was captured near his home in a rural area about an hour away from the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul.
On Monday, local talk radio station WCCO replayed one of her last interviews, done with Republican colleagues, where they discussed what they might do if they spent some off-time together.
The idea that this friendly state in the Upper Midwest could avoid the political rancor that often leads to violence elsewhere is a myth, says Jenna Stocker, editor of Thinking Minnesota, a publication by the conservative think tank Center of the American Experiment.
The center’s office was firebombed last year in a politically motivated attack. Nobody has been charged with the crime.
“Some people here in Minnesota let politics guide their thinking and how they feel about their neighbors, friends, and relatives,” says Ms Stocker.
In extreme cases, this has led to extreme actions. Recent studies indicate that political violence is increasing across the US, reaching levels not seen since the 1970s.
Reuters has recorded over 300 cases of politically motivated violence since the January 2021 US Capitol riot. A 2023 study by the Brennan Center for Justice, a left-leaning institute, found that 40% of state legislators had experienced threats or attacks in the previous three years.
Despite widespread fears, fueled in part by two assassination attempts against Donald Trump and the 2021 US Capitol riot, there was no large-scale violence around the time of the November 2024 presidential election.
But relations have become strained since that vote.
In April, the residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, was set on fire. Politics seem to have motivated the alleged killers of a health-care executive in New York and two Israeli embassy employees in Washington.
In Washington, members of the US Congress were to receive emergency security briefings this week.
In Minnesota, many mourned what the attacks on the state’s politicians meant for a place that prides itself on openness and the ability to avoid the viciousness of national politics.
Despite the recent attacks, there was little visible heavy security – and no metal detectors – at the Capitol building on Monday afternoon.
Among the mourners, several of Hortman’s relatives laid flowers in front of the state House chamber, where a table was filled with bouquets and signs reading “Demand Change” and “Rest in Power.”
Between the news cameras and flowers, a group toured the building, and legislative officials went about their work in an eerie silence.
But as people here mourned, national partisan arguments continued.
President Trump on Tuesday said he wouldn’t call Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in last year’s election, calling him “a mess.”
“The guy doesn’t have a clue,” he told reporters.
Following the attacks, several of Trump’s top supporters and allies, including Utah Senator Mike Lee, Elon Musk, conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, and activist Charlie Kirk, attempted without evidence to link Walz and Democratic lawmakers to the killings.
Lee wrote: “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way” while Musk reposted a message including a line about the attacks with the comment “The far left is murderously violent.”
Both men, who did not respond to requests for comment, appear to have been drawn into conspiracy theories circulating online.
Many pointed to the fact that Walz and a previous Democratic governor had appointed the suspect to a position on a state economic board.
However, Boelter was a Trump supporter with conservative views, according to interviews with friends and neighbors. Evidence revealed by authorities indicates that his target list included Democratic and progressive lawmakers, and he had flyers with information about anti-Trump “No Kings” rallies which happened in St Paul and other cities across the country on Saturday.
Although the exact motive is still under investigation, evidence suggests that the suspect was targeting the president’s opponents and left-wing and Democratic Party politicians.
“I saw that man every day in his yard,” said Ms White. “The other day I saw him outside smoking and writing something down in a notebook.”
While the capture of Mr Boelter provided some comfort, discussions on the airwaves in Minnesota have turned to how to cool the political temperature and prevent future attacks.
Ms Stocker, the editor of Thinking Minnesota, said “there are good people here” and noted that the vast majority of Minnesotans reject violence.
However, an increase in “othering” and heated rhetoric makes her pessimistic about the chances of peace any time soon.
“It’s going to take an entire generation of people to say we’re not going to take this anymore and it just needs to stop,” she said.
“I believe we need young people to rise up and say we’re not going to stand for it.”
