The chair of the DNC claims that the alleged MAGA assassin who targeted Democratic politicians over the weekend also shot Melissa Hortman’s beloved pet dog.
“The cruelty knows no bounds,” said Ken Martin, a Minnesotan who became chair of the Democratic National Committee earlier this year. He was a longtime friend of the Hortmans, who were brutally attacked in their home early on Saturday morning.
Melissa Hortman, 55, the former Speaker of the House in Minnesota, was shot and killed inside the family home in Brooklyn Park, a city outside Minneapolis. Late on Sunday night, suspect Vance Luther Boelter was apprehended by sheriffs in the Minnesota backwoods.
Hortman’s husband, Mark, 58, was also killed in the attack, which left their two adult children without any parents.
Erin Koegel, a member of the Minnesota House since 2017, said one of their first tasks had been to euthanize the golden retriever, which their mother had adored. “Her children had to put down him after learning their parents had been murdered,” she wrote on X.
Hortman had been a foster home trainer for a local dog shelter called Helping Paws, which is how she came to meet Gilbert.
Koegel continued, “Gilbert wasn’t going to survive. Melissa loved that dog. She trained him as a service dog. He flunked out of school and she was so happy he failed so he could stay! She needed him in heaven with her.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to Koegel and the DNC for further details.
On Saturday, Helping Paws posted a tribute to Hortman on Facebook. “This morning, we learned of the tragic and senseless death of former Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Melissa served her community in more ways than one. She was a Helping Paws Foster Home Trainer, a neighbor, and a friend. The Hortman family raised and trained Minnie, who is now a working service dog partnered with a Veteran. They also helped raise and train Gilbert, a service dog in training who was eventually career changed and became a cherished member of their family. At this time, we do not have confirmed information about Gilbert’s condition.”
An enormous manhunt for Boelter eventually ended on Sunday night when sheriffs caught up with the man described by a close friend as a vehement Trump supporter and anti-abortion diehard.
At around the same time that Boelter was arrested, Martin posted a devastating update on Gilbert’s fate.
“Unspeakable. Just learned from Rep. Erin Koegel that Speaker Hortman’s kids had to put down Melissa’s beloved dog, Gilbert — after Vance Boelter shot the dog while assassinating Melissa and Mark. The cruelty knows no bounds. My heart aches,” he wrote.
