The Democratic National Committee voted to cut short its meeting in Minneapolis on Wednesday after the mass shooting at a church in the city. "I'm extremely, extremely sorry that our meeting ended on such a tragic note," Chair Ken Martin told hundreds of Democrats, per the Minnesota Star Tribune, in emotional remarks, "but as we leave here with heavy hearts, let's steel ourselves again in this work and why it's so important."
The gathering had begun on Monday with remarks by the Minnesota lawmaker who survived a shooting in June, per KARE. Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot in their home in front of their daughter on the same day state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed. He urged Democrats to work to restore public faith in politics and recognize the harm being done by conspiracy theories, dehumanization rhetoric, and political radicalization. Gov. Tim Walz also spoke to the group about those shootings. "I know we gather here in Minnesota. We have not moved on from it, it is not a new news cycle for us," Walz said. "We are forever changed by it."