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John Hoffman, the Minnesota state senator who survived an assassination attempt the same night his legislative colleague Rep. Melissa Hortman was killed, reflected Monday on a long healing process and his appraisal of a political climate that remains heated. 

In an interview with MPR News, Hoffman described in vivid detail the night that left him with nine bullet wounds, including one bullet that came within millimeters of his heart. He and his wife, Yvette, who was also sprayed with gunfire, pushed their attacker from their doorstep as emergency responders were en route.

“If I would have hesitated one more second, I would be dead,” Hoffman said. 

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The violence of that night still lingers in his head.

“That sound in that gun,” Hoffman recounted. “When you’re facing a nine-millimeter Beretta, and it’s inches from your nose, and all you see is the barrel and that’s something I would never wish on anybody.”

He spoke about learning of the death of Hortman, a fellow Democratic lawmaker from the northern suburbs., He learned about her death days later because doctors feared telling him sooner could have caused a cardiac problem for him.

“When I found out, it was like, it was like the world just dropped right in front of me,” Hoffman said.

In the overnight hours of June 14, a gunman disguised as a police officer shot at the Hoffmans inside the doorway of their Champlin home. Not long after, authorities say the same person fatally fired upon Hortman, her husband, Mark, and their dog Gilbert also died.

Law enforcement found Vance Boelter far from the crime scenes in a farm field near his home in Green Isle after a 43-hour manhunt. He is jailed awaiting trial on several federal counts associated to the Hortman and Hoffman shootings. State prosecutors have also filed charges.  Authorities allege he also stalked other Democratic lawmakers and had a list of potential targets in his car whom he disagreed with politically.

Hoffman spoke from his Capitol complex office that he returned to only recently but already has symbols of what he’s been through. 

A Minnesota-shaped plaque in his honor — “Nine shots, One purpose” — sits on a bookshelf. On a wall is an etching made by his daughter containing Hoffman, Hortman and two lawmakers who passed away from health complications, Sens. Kari Dziedzic and David Tomassoni.

Hoffman, who turned 61 on Saturday, said the tragedy has given him new focus.

“How can we be honest to Minnesota and stay focused to Minnesota. And that’s what recovery has done for me is giving me clarity about what my role is,” Hoffman said.

As chair of a Senate human services committee, he plans to convene a hearing this month on steps taken by state agencies to combat fraud. He said he fears the blanket approach of freezing social services provider aid has caused harm and actions need to be more strategic.

When it comes to Capitol security, Hoffman said he favors metal detectors at entrances but said it’s important that the debate be had to hear varying opinions and take into account the recommendations of experts.

“People like me, who’ve been shot nine times, would say, ‘Bring in the metal detectors and get rid of the guns, right?’” Hoffman said.

He also said he would work to enhance penalties for people caught trying to impersonate law enforcement, making it a felony rather than a misdemeanor.

Another facet of his new mission is to use his platform to reinforce the dangers of overheated political rhetoric, which he said has gone too far to divide people in dangerous fashion.

“Disagree with my policy, disagree with my politics, that's part of normal discourse, right?” Hoffman said. “But as soon as you start to dehumanize me as an individual, then you start to create that fear, that anger and that anxiety, and that's not okay.”

The interview was one of a series of media sit-downs with Hoffman, as the Democratic legislator tries to re-acclimate at a state Capitol still on edge and forever changed by a jolt of political violence against lawmakers last summer. 

Hoffman has undergone multiple surgeries since the shooting and has otherwise kept a relatively low profile. He appeared in recorded videos tied to national legislative conferences, urging fellow politicians to turn down the rhetoric that some say is feeding violent actions. 

Hoffman also issued a statement condemning a social media post by President Donald Trump in early January that amplified a conspiracy theory about the Hortman killing.

Last week, he received a standing ovation after his first public speech at a local chamber of commerce event.

Aides say Hoffman wanted to do interviews now so he could focus on his legislative work once the 2026 session comes to order on Feb. 17.

Hoffman, who was elected to the first of four terms in 2012, recently announced he would run again in 2026.

“What drives me who I am is the work that I do and I want to keep doing, and the clarity that I have to keep moving forward. Don’t forget, never forget what Mark and Melissa Hortman were about in their life, and never forget what Yvette and I are about,” Hoffman said. “We’re grateful to be alive.”

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State Sen. John Hoffman offered his first series of interviews since a June assassination attempt left him and his wife wounded the same night a colleague, Melissa Hortman, was killed.

After being shot, Sen. Hoffman opens up about healing process, a path ahead with ‘clarity’

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