In the wake of the assassination of Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shootings of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, state legislatures across the country are ramping up their security measures amid growing concerns over the privacy and safety of public officials.
Legislatures are reviewing a variety of measures, such as minimizing the availability of legislators’ home addresses online and discussing physical security infrastructure enhancements at legislative buildings. According a review by NCSL, approximately 40 state capitols currently require security screenings with metal detectors at entrances, while 10 do not.
Following the June 14 violence, Minnesota and several other state legislatures quickly removed the home addresses of legislators from official websites. However, two Minnesota lawmakers, Rep. Steven Jacob and Sen. Carla Nelson, told KTTC that while they advocate for enhanced safety measures, they would not let the gunman’s actions keep them from serving.
The Washington Post adds that Minnesota’s secretary of state is reconsidering the availabilty of records listing home addresses, and that legislators have asked for more Capitol security and harsher penalties for threats against lawmakers. Secretary of State Steve Simon told the newspaper he temporarily limited access to pubic records with lawmakers' personal data, including candidate forms, and is assessing which records should reamain accessible online. "With certain exceptions, that information is public information," he told the Post. "But public doesn't necessarily mean we have to put it on the website."
In , Legislative Council Director John Bjornson said that legislators' home addresses were removed from the Legislature's website immediately after the shootings and that the Legislative Management Committee will discuss long-term policies when it meets next. “I think everybody was shocked and shaken,” he told the North Dakota Monitor. Maine deleted home addresses from the Legislature's website as well, and personal information was removed from a candidate filing website.
Similarly, removed home addresses from House and Senate webpages, though one lawmaker told WMUR ABC it is important to maintain transparency to be accessible to his constituents. South Dakota also removed addresses from the Legislature's website. “Access is important to us, and I believe in our citizen legislature,” Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr tells South Dakota Searchlight, “but I think there are plenty of points of access that are easier than knocking on my door and scaring my family just in the hope that I’m here.”
The Associated Press reports that New Mexico deleted all legislators' home addressses from the Statehouse website as a precaution, adding that some personal information had already been restricted after drive-by shootings in 2022 and 2023 targeted four Democratic lawmakers in Albuquerque. Source NM adds that leaders in the House and Senate are working with law enforcement and the Legislative Council Service to review security protocols.
In Colorado, while home addresses are not listed on the Legislature's website, the secretary of state temporarily took down the public-facing TRACER campaign finance database to protect lawmakers' personal information, according to Axios. The decision, made after consulting with state leaders, allows lawmakers to request redaction before it goes back online.
The Wisconsin Legislature responded with new security measures after the names of several state and congressional lawmakers were found on a list connected to the suspect in the Minnesota shootings, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. In a June 16 press release, Timothy La Sage, Senate sergeant-at-arms, announced updated security at the Capitol, including increased situational awareness, strengthened access control and updated emergency protocols.
Meanwhile, security reviews are underway in Kentucky; Ohio has increased Capitol security with patrols near legislators' homes; and Vermont has enhanced its Capitol security with added police presence, single-point building entry, and metal detectors and bag scans, NBC 5 reports.