A leaked Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo eerily foreshadowed the type of violent attacks that culminated in the tragic rampage shootings of Minnesota Democrats State Sen. John Hoffman and State Rep. Melissa Hortman, as well as their spouses.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Saturday morning that state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband did not survive the attack at their home. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife are alive, but wounded.
The politicians were shot in their homes overnight in two separate attacks by a suspect who may have been impersonating a police officer. Gov. Walz said the attacks are believed to be “politically motivated” assassinations.
At the time of writing, no suspects have been named or arrested.
The document, obtained by ABC News last year and republished in the wake of the shootings by Mediaite, reveals DHS concerns about rising domestic threats, specifically highlighting the potential for lone-wolf attacks targeting law enforcement and civilians at their homes in politically charged environments.
ABC News reported at the time:
A concerning “recent uptick” in personal residences targeted has left well-known people in both the public and private sector, their families and their staff “vulnerable to attack” in their own homes – and comes at a moment already marked by historic partisan tensions and volatility, analysts at the Department of Homeland Security said in a briefing memo issued on March 11.
The confidential memo, obtained by ABC News, details how threat actors, espousing a range of ideologies and promoting these attacks online, have moved beyond more traditional targets to those with less robust security measures – like home addresses. The pivot has posed “multiple challenges” for law enforcement working to detect and disrupt insidious plots.
“The threat to high-profile public and private sector officials and their families and staff has likely increased, judging from a recent uptick in online messaging promoting attacks at their homes, doxing and swatting incidents, and several notable attacks,” the bulletin warned. “Recent attacks at private residences have occurred during a period of overall increased political polarization, target hardening of more traditional attack locations, and the prevalence of conspiracy theories targeting industry and government officials.”
Private homes “lack” more “robust security measures” deployed where high-profile officials have typically been targeted “like government buildings and corporate offices,” the memo said – and with personal information exponentially available on the internet, the threat grows more complex, even as social media provides a platform for extremist thought.
And while “traditional targets” have hardened troubleshooting security measures, the memo said, that “probably drives potential attackers to prioritize private residences,” perceived as “accessible with limited obstacles.”
Legislators in the area have been urged to take extra safety precautions as the manhunt continues.
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