What Melissa and Mark Hortman’s Killings Revealed About Threats to Lawmakers

After the killings of Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, Star Tribune reporters began digging into a troubling question: How serious are the threats facing elected officials — and how well are those threats being tracked?

In this episode, MaryJo Webster, Nathaniel Minor and Jana Hollingsworth talk about how they tracked down police records, what they uncovered about threats against elected officials, and what it says about the safety net around public service. We also look at new efforts at the Legislature to strengthen security for lawmakers and their families.

00:00 The Night Everything Changed
00:29 What Happened to Melissa and Mark Hortman
02:00 The Question Reporters Couldn’t Ignore
04:09 The Data That Was Hard to Find
05:18 What Police “Service Calls” Revealed
07:25 When Threats Follow Lawmakers Home
10:20 Why No One Really Knows the Full Number
12:07 How Security Changed at the Capitol
15:24 The Threats That Were Hardest to Read
17:18 Why More Lawmakers Are Speaking Up
18:58 Who Faces the Worst Abuse
22:17 Can New Laws Make Them Safer?
25:00 Can Politics Cool Down From Here?

More from Essential Minnesota: https://www.startribune.com/essential-minnesota/601583462
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