Klobuchar, Demuth highlight public safety plans amid high-profile violence in Twin Cities

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth used dueling press conferences to highlight their plans if elected Minnesota’s next governor to strengthen law enforcement and ensure perpetrators of crimes are punished. The public safety push comes amid several high-profile violent incidents in the Twin Cities.

In recent days, the Department of Justice announced the indictment of an 18-year-old alleged to have planned an ISIS terrorist plot at the Mall of America, while two shooting incidents apparently involving Somali youth have shaken west metro suburbs. No one has died from the spate of violence.

On Thursday, Demuth held a public safety roundtable in Eden Prairie and told reporters afterward that Democratic leadership in recent years has been reluctant to hold criminals accountable.

“I think what has come here in the state of Minnesota is almost a toxicity when it comes to compassion — not calling crime out — or departing down on sentences, or not wanting to hold people accountable,” Demuth said. “That’s why we find ourselves where we are today.”

(Minnesota’s crime rate continued falling in 2025 and is below the national average.)

Klobuchar distanced herself from the progressive criminal justice views of many in her own party. After praising federal law enforcement in the Mall of America case earlier in the week, she was surrounded by law enforcement officials Friday and honed in on her record as Hennepin County attorney from 1999 to 2007. Her tenure was known for stiffer sentences, more criminal trials and more convictions.

To address the recent violence, Klobuchar said she would encourage collaboration between law enforcement agencies and arrest and charge the people committing the crimes, including juveniles.

“Otherwise, they’re just going to not get the message. I gotta be honest — sometimes compassion is having consequences because if they think no one’s going to do anything about it, and they can just roam around and do more of this … you’re going to just continue it and expand it,” Klobuchar said.

Klobuchar said as governor she would create a regional gang violence task force led by the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; pass into law a gun safety package that includes a ban on so-called assault weapons; find ways to recruit more police officers; bolster police departments to ensure they can combat online threats; and lengthen prison sentences for convicted criminals, including those who bilk money from the state’s social safety net programs. The latter issue is another where she’s sought to create distance between herself and outgoing Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

Demuth’s public safety plan includes proposing a “3 strikes rule” in which people who commit a third or subsequent violent crime wouldn’t be eligible for an early release; creating a searchable database of judges who reduce sentences or dismiss criminal cases; and bolstering school safety funding.

The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis — the union representing Minneapolis police officers — endorsed Demuth for governor earlier this week.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, the state’s largest police group, has not yet endorsed either Demuth of Klobuchar for governor. The group gave Demuth a $250 donation in February but endorsed Klobuchar in her previous Senate campaigns.