ST. PAUL, Minn. — Former President Joe Biden joined Minnesotans by the thousands who paid their respects to Melissa and Mark Hortman at the Minnesota Capitol on Friday, as the couple received one of the state’s highest honors.

Lying in state is a rare honor typically reserved for former governors, U.S. senators and other high-ranking public officials. Melissa Hortman, a former House speaker and Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party House leader, was the first woman to receive such a tribute in the state’s history after she and her husband Mark were shot and killed earlier this month in their Brooklyn Park home. They were accompanied by their golden retriever, Gilbert, who was also shot and later euthanized.

Melissa Hortman was known as an unflashy, no-nonsense leader who took care of her team and wanted to get things done. Mark Hortman worked as a program manager at a tech firm in St. Louis Park and enjoyed mountain biking, competitive pool, home beer brewing and woodworking. They have two adult children, Colin and Sophie.

Biden arrived shortly after 4 p.m. and proceeded alone to the cleared rotunda and paused for about a minute in front of the caskets. He then kneeled for a few moments and left the area.

The Minnesota Star Tribune spoke to several mourners outside the Capitol.

Rebecca Crooks-Stratton, 44, came to the Capitol in a rainbow ribbon skirt. She brought sweet grass with her to lay at the memorial, a sacred plant in many tribal cultures. Crooks-Stratton is a member of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux community, and formerly served as secretary treasurer for the tribe.

“Her friendship with the tribes and interactions when I was a tribal leader was just phenomenal,” she said of Hortman. “She understood tribal sovereignty and understood how to work with the tribes.”

Crooks-Stratton participated in the first sovereignty day Hortman held in 2019. The event, which serves as an open forum for the 11 tribal nations in the state to engage with legislators, is a significant feat in Hortman’s legacy.

“I hope that we can continue to honor her legacy by being in community and carrying forward the things that she did for us,” Crooks-Stratton said.

Augustine “Willie” Dominguez, 69, from north Minneapolis, served in the state House with Hortman. He said he came to the Capitol to “visit my friend.”

When he was a freshman member in 2006, she led his orientation and showed him the ropes. Hortman quickly became the person Dominguez went to when he had questions about bills. “She was really, really kind — the person that listens to you,” he said.

Hortman’s death leaves a “void” at the Legislature, Dominguez said as he walked up the steps of the Capitol.

He hopes that legislators come together in the wake of her death. But he added that current legislators he knows are scared for the safety of their families because of the Hortmans’ assassination.

Many of the hundreds of mourners waited in line at the Capitol so they could say one final “thank you” to Melissa Hortman.

Arline Datu of St. Paul, who, with the faith-based advocacy group ISAIAH, fought for progressive bills in 2023 like paid family leave and voting rights for formerly incarcerated people, said those wouldn’t have been possible without Hortman. She intended to offer a “prayer of gratitude” as she passed by the Hortmans’ caskets, she said.

Former state Rep. Frank Hornstein said Hortman empowered him and state Sen. Scott Dibble to author and pass what turned out to be a transformational transportation bill during the 2023 session. Hornstein said he attended the event today to “thank her for who she was.”

“I just have gratitude in my heart,” added Dibble.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, one of Hortman’s closest political allies, was first through the door, along with his wife, Gwen Walz, to pay respect to the Hortmans.

They held hands in a prolonged moment of silence in front of the Hortmans’ caskets. A few at a time, lawmakers solemnly passed through. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, a longtime friend of Hortman’s, cupped her hand over her mouth as she quietly cried in front of the caskets.

Mourners wiped tears from their eyes, made signs of the Cross or bowed their heads in quiet moments of grief before making their way upstairs to memorials outside the House chamber bearing hundreds of flowers, photos, candles and other mementos.

GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth filed in shortly after Walz alongside her husband and state Rep. Jim Nash. Demuth, who worked closely with Hortman this year in the tied House, wiped tears from her eyes and embraced her husband.

Meanwhile, alleged assassin Vance Boelter made a brief court appearance in federal court Friday morning in St. Paul on Friday, where proceedings were continued after his public defender Manny Atwal revealed that he has remained on suicide watch since his June 15 arrest and raised concerns about conditions at the Sherburne County Jail.

Atwal said Boelter has been placed in a cell where the lights are on 24 hours a day, and he sleeps on a mat while the doors next to him slam, so it’s noisy. It’s been difficult to speak with him, she said, because he is so sleep deprived.

“Your honor, I haven’t slept in 12 to 14 days,” Boelter told Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko. “I’d also like to state I’ve never been suicidal, and I’m not suicidal now.”

Boelter was dressed in a green sleeveless garment commonly known as a suicide gown. Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry Jacobs, who is assisting in the prosecution of the case, did not object to continuing proceedings, and said prosecutors also shared concerns about the conditions at the jail. The next steps, including whether Boelter would be moved, were not discussed during the hearing. Boelter will return to court on July 3.

Mike Starr, a retired veteran from Oak Grove, was the first person in the public line to get inside the Capitol, arriving at the south doors, he said, at 6:30 a.m. He said he met Melissa Hortman during his unsuccessful state Senate run in 2012, then observed her career over the following years as Hortman ascended the ranks at the state Legislature.

“She meant quite a bit to the state,” said Starr, 71. “She stood up for the people and she would do what she had to do to take care of the people. And unfortunately someone didn’t like that.”

Starr, a Democrat, said he hopes Minnesotans can turn away from divisive, increasingly violent politics and instead resolve their differences by sitting down and talking with each other. For today though, Starr said it was important for him to pay his respects to Hortman and her husband, Mark. He said that when he walks by their caskets, he’ll offer one simple comment.

“Thank you for what you did for Minnesota.”

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