Condemning the Attacks on Minnesota Lawmakers in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, Minnesota, and Calling for Unity and the Rejection of Political Violence in Minnesota and Across the United States

Floor Speech

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Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 519 introduced by Congresswoman Kelly Morrison and the Minnesota delegation.

I join my colleagues in condemning the attack that took the lives of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

Let me say this loud and clear as so many have said today. There is no place in our democracy for political violence. It violates our shared humanity. The violence we saw in Minnesota is a consequence of those in power irresponsibly stoking division and fermenting hate against political opponents.

I also rise today to amplify the resolution's call that we all reaffirm our commitment to a democracy where violent rhetoric and acts like this are not tolerated.

Their call is echoed in my resolution to honor the life of Wadee Alfayoumi, a 6-year-old boy from Illinois whose life was taken in the act of anti-Palestinian violence. It is the duty of elected officials and the media to tell the truth without dehumanizing rhetoric when informing the public of factual information.

We know that dehumanizing rhetoric can fuel sentiments of hate that result in violence, and each tragedy adds to a litany of evidence that our safety and our security are interconnected. Dehumanizing rhetoric makes us all less safe. Whether it be Truth Social polls, on Twitter or anywhere else, we all have a responsibility to denounce political violence in all its forms.

It is our duty to denounce, and we will continue to reject, all forms of hate-fueled violence from Plainfield, Illinois to Gaza to Israel to D.C. to Boulder to Minneapolis and everywhere in between. It is our responsibility, and I thank the sponsors for bringing this resolution.

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