BLOOMINGTON, MN - CBS News Minnesota reports that in response to rising political violence and alleged threats to Minnesota lawmakers, the Bloomington Police Department has created a new executive protection unit.
“We are the first police department in the state to have such a unit,” Police Chief Booker Hodges told reporters during a news conference last week.
The unit was created partially in response to the killings of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their Brooklyn Park home last June. The chief also mentioned increasing political violence nationwide, including last September’s assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk and several attempts on the life of President Trump.
Officers assigned to the unit have trained with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Secret Service.
Hodges thanked the city for funding the unit and providing resources for its creation, referring to the unit as “a very complex unit.” Officers assigned to the unit will conduct threat assessments and, if needed, provide security for high-profile events and public officials in Bloomington.
“It also provides us with the opportunity to fully investigate a lot of the threats that take place, and believe it or not, even as chief of police, people said they wanted to kill me,” Chief Hodges said.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reported that 18 threats against lawmakers were reported to the State Patrol in 2024. In 2025, that number jumped to 93 threats, while just over four months into 2026, 78 threats have been reported.
The threats have gotten the attention of Minnesota lawmakers, where the House and Senate have introduced competing plans to implement a funding increase for security both at the Capitol building and for lawmakers off Capitol grounds as needed.
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