Shot nine times, Sen. John Hoffman is resolute in continuing political life

In the seven months since Sen. John Hoffman was shot nine times in the doorway of his home, he has learned that healing from physical and emotional trauma is not linear.

“Recovery is a process,” Hoffman, DFL-Champlin said. “Physically, you have good days, and there are sometimes where you just hit the wall and I’m physically just done.”

Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were shot early June 14 by the same man accused of murdering House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman. The man, Vance Boelter, is accused of dressing up like a police officer to target Democratic lawmakers in the dead of night, shining a flashlight in the Hoffmans’ eyes when they answered the door. Authorities allege Boelter had written plans to target many more.

Seven months into his recovery, Hoffman was in good spirits Monday, Jan. 19 during an interview in his office in the Minnesota Senate Building — his first with the Star Tribune since his attempted killing. But he said he’s still working on healing. As an avid drummer, he’s frustrated he hasn’t regained strength in his left arm, he said. He’s working on that in physical therapy.

“I’m angry, absolutely angry, but now’s not the time for grievance,” Hoffman said. “Now’s the time for gratitude.”

Still, he said, that night comes flooding back.

The shots fired by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent that killed Renee Nicole Good triggered his memory of rounds fired into his body and at Yvette Hoffman.

Hoffman sat for interviews just weeks before the Minnesota Legislature returns for its annual session as state leaders grapple with increased federal immigration enforcement and lawmakers are at odds over fraud in the state’s social services programs. In the session, Democrats are expected to push for stricter gun laws after an August shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in south Minneapolis.

The gravity of the attempt on Hoffman’s life washes over him from time to time, he said.

“It still comes over,” Hoffman said. “I miss Melissa.”

On his office wall hangs an artistic depiction of Hortman along with former Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic and Sen. David Tomassoni watching over Hoffman. Dzeidzic died of ovarian cancer in 2024, and Tomassoni died of ALS in 2022. He said the three former lawmakers are with him as he moves forward.

Hoffman said he had lots of time to think as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from his injuries.

Hoffman said while “most people would withdraw,” it’s important to be engaged.

“What I’m hoping is that we get away from the finger-pointing, the brinksmanship, the name-calling, the dehumanization of people — that we look at people and start to treat people like people ... That’s the reason why I want to stay engaged.”

Hoffman, a longtime champion for disabled Minnesotans, plans to hold legislative hearings on the state rollout of an assessment process to verify providers and prevent fraud.

“There are still people with disabilities and our elderly that should be receiving the services, and they’re not,” Hoffman said. “And I gotta get to the why.”

Hoffman said legislators gave the state authority to focus on bad actors but has taken a “hammered” approach instead.

“When I finally saw that he was not a cop,” Hoffman said, “that’s when he turned a Beretta 9 millimeter on me and my wife and almost my daughter.”

Hoffman said he looks at public life not as being about him, but about Minnesotans who need a voice.

“I’m driven more now than I ever have been,” Hoffman said, “about being present.”