During an interview with CNN on Sunday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) discussed the shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers on Saturday.
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00:00So, this man, what we know from the list of the fact that we had groups like Planned
00:07Parenthood on the list, the fact—some of the things we know about the manifesto, this
00:12was clearly politically motivated.
00:15It was, as you described, an assassination.
00:18And Melissa Hortman is the most incredible person that I wish everyone in the nation
00:23knew her.
00:24You know, went into politics with little kids.
00:27That's how I got to know her.
00:28We have both moms in politics, taught Sunday school, Girl Scout leader, balanced all of
00:33it, and ends up moving up in the legislature to be a beloved speaker of the House, getting
00:39through with the governor, free lunch, getting through with the governor, all the work she
00:44did on paid family leave, and then, this year, with a tied legislature, negotiates with her
00:50Republican counterpart and is able to get a budget done.
00:54She was extraordinary.
00:55And so, when you hear about political violence, Dana, you got to look at the face of this
00:58woman and understand how real this is.
01:02In terms of this manhunt, $50,000 award from the FBI, we asked people to come forward.
01:08The chilling picture for us is the one where he had put on a mask.
01:11He's very smart.
01:12He's very evil.
01:13And that picture is taken from a ring camera, from a doorbell that many Americans may have,
01:20right before he killed our friends.
01:22So you've got a massive manhunt, as you say, going on, and people are just following instructions
01:28from law enforcement.
01:30We want to get this guy.
01:31No, I haven't.
01:32And I will say that, without me asking, they've added security, but not just for me, for other
01:37leaders in Minnesota.
01:39You know, for me, I think people know that elected officials get threats, a lot of them
01:46you never hear about, judges, election workers.
01:50This has gotten totally out of hand, with threats against members of Congress.
01:53In 2016, there were like 1,700 of them.
01:57Last year, over 9,000 of them.
02:00And so, one of the things that we have done, our delegation with Congressman Emmer and Congresswoman
02:06McCollum, Senator Smith and others, we actually put out a joint statement that said, we speak
02:11with one voice in condemning political violence.
02:15I think we need to see more of this across our country.
02:18People need to call people out.
02:20Some people need to look in the mirror and say, hey, I've got to stop this or stop
02:23my colleagues from doing this, because it makes it much worse.
02:28We need to bring the tone down, and we also need to stand up when people do bad things,
02:33which I know you're going to be talking about later in the show.
02:36And I'm glad there was such turnouts at these rallies, because our democracy is something
02:41to protect, not try to bring down.
02:44I think, just in general, there can be copycat crimes, and people can get incentivized when
02:51they see things online, something else I'd like to put more rules of the road in place
02:55on, because that is—you look at the man that bludgeoned Speaker Pelosi's husband.
03:00Of course he was off balance.
03:02Of course he was sick.
03:04But that case, you could see a through line with him reading this stuff online.
03:09So more has to be done on that front.
03:11And then, of course, more has to be done to protect elected officials, regardless of party.
03:17And I appreciate that Senator Thune and Senator Schumer called me yesterday, and they're
03:22very focused on making sure there's added security.
03:26The first is to follow the advice of law enforcement right now, because they've—it's been a changing
03:31situation with shelters in place.
03:33And to understand, they're just simply trying to get a madman.
03:36But the second is that people like Melissa or Senator Hoffman, who's struggling and holding
03:42in there with his life, along with his wife, Yvette, that these are real people.
03:48And before you start ascribing motives or going after them online, maybe you should think about
03:54Melissa Hortman's life, right?
03:58A group just put out—a group—a local group put out a picture of her—and I didn't even
04:05know this about her, that she trained dogs for veterans in her spare time.
04:10This is a person that did everything for the right reasons.
04:13And regardless of political parties, just look at her face and think about that before
04:18you send out your next post or before you say something that isn't just about your
04:23views.
04:24People can have different views on things.
04:26But remember that our democracy is something to cherish.
04:29And public service is a worthy thing to do.
04:32And Senator Hortman's children today, they didn't just lose a mom.
04:37They lost their dad, Mark, and it is Father's Day, so pray for them as well.