New Jersey heightens security for public officials after Minnesota assassination

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin ordered heightened security for public officials and increased patrols statewide Saturday after a gunman shot two state lawmakers and their spouses in Minnesota earlier in the day.

Gov. Phil Murphy said the bolstered security came “out of an abundance of caution,” and that there is no current, credible threat in New Jersey.

“The assassination of former Minnesota State House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark and the attempted assassination of State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette have sent shockwaves throughout our nation,” Murphy said in a statement. “This terrible act against two dedicated public officials is an attack on our democracy. There is no place for political violence in the United States, and we must all work together to ensure our political differences are settled through debate, not bloodshed.”

Murphy recalled the 2020 attack at U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas’ home in New Jersey, when a gunman targeting the jurist murdered her 20-year-old son Daniel Anderyl and seriously wounded her husband Mark Anderyl. The incident prompted state legislators to pass a law, known as Daniel’s Law, that prohibits the public disclosure of the home addresses of judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and other public officials.

“New Jersey is sadly all too familiar with targeted political violence against public officials and their families,” Murphy said. “We hope the perpetrator is quickly apprehended by law enforcement and swiftly brought to justice.”

The Minnesota shootings came during a day of political division nationally, with President Donald Trump’s supporters flocking to Washington, D.C., for a massive military parade to mark the Army’s anniversary and Trump’s birthday while thousands of demonstrators denounced Trump at “No Kings” protests around the country.