More than 150 ‘suspicious’ persons reported at Capitol complex in first six months of 2025

A state government committee that makes security recommendations for the Minnesota State Capitol complex met Wednesday morning. The meeting comes as political leaders continue to grapple with how best to protect Minnesota legislators.

In June, a gunman traveled to the homes of two state lawmakers, killing one and shooting the other multiple times. Just a few weeks later, a naked intruder was found on the floor of the Minnesota Senate around midnight.

Since then, public safety officials and state leaders have publicly wrestled with how best to protect legislators while keeping the Capitol complex accessible to the public. The Capitol complex includes the State Capitol Building and 14 other nearby government buildings.

Last month, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) said it will hire a third-party firm to conduct a review of Capitol security protocols. Public entrances to the State Capitol Building have since been reduced and staffed with security officers.

Yesterday, the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security received a security update from DPS. The committee is comprised of Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Chief Justice Natalie Hudson of the Minnesota Supreme Court, two GOP lawmakers, and two DFL lawmakers.

While the committee makes security recommendations on how best to protect the Capitol complex, the panel does not have power to unilaterally make security decisions.

At that meeting, DPS officials gave a presentation which said the 15-building complex is staffed with 33 state troopers, 55 Capitol security guards, an emergency manager, and a K-9 unit. The sprawling campus has hundreds of security cameras, key card readers, and emergency intercoms. Further, the complex has more than 100,000 alarms and sensors.

In the months since the advisory committee’s last meeting in April, several changes to Capitol security have taken place. Among them, the Capitol complex has increased staff at all hours, additional staff are being hired, and Capitol security is now overseen at a higher level within the Minnesota State Patrol.

DPS also confirmed it has hired a firm that will conduct the third-party review of the complex security; a final report is expected in November or December. According to the presentation, more State Troopers will be working at the Capitol and more security officers will be hired.

However, the presentation also included the number of security incidents that occurred on the complex between Jan. 1 and June 30 of this year. Within this timeframe, the complex experienced 46 instances of damage to property, 157 suspicious persons, 35 medical calls, and 16 deployments of the Mobile Response Team.

A spokesperson for the Minnesota State Patrol informed Alpha News that property damage involves any damage that occurs on Capitol grounds, including personal property, while medical calls “might range from someone falling in a parking lot on the grounds to someone experiencing a serious medical emergency.”

Meanwhile, the Mobile Response Team handles crowd control situations and assists “with permitted and non-permitted events and demonstrations where the expected crowd exceeds resources available to ensure that First Amendment rights can be exercised and to ensure the safety of those present.”

Regarding reports of suspicious persons on Capitol grounds, the spokesperson said calls about suspicious persons can originate from State Troopers, Capitol security, alarms, panic buttons, or members of the public calling 911 or a non-emergency line.

The spokesperson said activity deemed suspicious could be different for each caller, “but we take each call seriously.”

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