Former President Joe Biden on Friday joined mourners in the Minnesota State Capitol to pay his respects to slain House Speaker Melissa Hortman, reports Axios.
Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park, Minn., home earlier this month in what law enforcement described as a string of attacks against dozens of Democratic elected officials.
The couple lay in state with their golden retriever, Gilbert. It was the first time a couple has lain in state at the Capitol, and the first time for a dog.
Among the first to pay their respects were Gov. Tim Walz, who has called Hortman his closest political ally, and his wife, Gwen. Biden, a Catholic, visited later in the afternoon, walking up to the velvet rope in front of the caskets, making the sign of the cross, and spending a few moments by himself in silence. He then kneeled briefly, got up, made the sign of the cross again, and walked off to greet people waiting in the wings of the rotunda.
Vice President Kamala Harris expressed her condolences earlier this week to Hortman’s adult children, and spoke with Walz, her running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket, who extended an invitation on behalf of the Hortman family, her office said.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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