“A horrific act of political violence that must never be tolerated” 

Washington, D.C. (June 14, 2025) — Brent Booker, General President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, made the following statement regarding the shootings of Minnesota lawmakers and their families:

The assassination today of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her spouse and the shooting of two others is a horrific act of political violence that must never be tolerated in a society that calls itself a civilized democracy.

 

The slaying of State Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark leaves an unfillable void in the state. She was a compassionate, long-term state lawmaker known for reaching across the aisle and thoughtfully considering a diversity of viewpoints. She was a true ally of working people in Minnesota.

 

We send our profound condolences to Speaker Hortman’s family and our wishes for recovery of wounded lawmaker State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.

 

All of us — of any or no political persuasion, of any creed or faith, of any nationality — must ask each other and ourselves how as human beings we can allow any differences to lead to such a crime and how our nation has arrived at this level of hateful division.

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The more than a half-million members of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – are on the forefront of the construction industry, a powerhouse of workers who are proud to build the U.S. and Canada.