Capitol to have new security measures in place when session starts Tuesday

When the Legislature convenes Tuesday, there will be several new security measures in place designed to better protect lawmakers, staff and the public who enter the Capitol.

The most obvious changes will be the addition of security checkpoints set up at four entrances to the building, as outlined at a press conference Friday by officials from the Department of Public Safety, the lead state agency coordinating the changes.

The scanners are not metal detectors and are safe, for example, for people with a pacemaker. Instead, the walk-through scanners use AI to form images of and analyze objects carried on a person’s body and flag those items that require hand screenings or a pass through a separate X-ray scanner. People won’t be required to take off their jackets or remove their shoes or belts, according to Col. Christina Bogojevic, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol.

“No single measure eliminates all risk, but this one meaningfully reduces preventable risks and violence in a shared civic space where the public, elected officials and staff gather on a regular basis,” said Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson.

“It is focused on safety and accessibility, not on restriction,” he said, adding that this type of weapons screening is a widely used safety practice in government buildings nationwide.

Under current law, people with a valid permit to carry may bring a firearm into the Capitol. The new security measures will not change that, Bogojevic said.

Permit holders will need to identify themselves to a State Patrol officer staffing a scanner, and produce the permit and a valid government-issued ID.

“This is not a weapons ban. It does not change state law,” Bogojevic said. “What we are doing is adding a layer of protection so everyone can enjoy this historic building safely.”

[MORE: View a list of prohibited items]

Who, when and where

Legislators will not be required to undergo these new screenings, but legislative staff will, Bogojevic said. Others who are exempt from screening include the governor, other executive branch officials, and members of the state Supreme Court. Jacobson outlined the full list of exempt persons in a Feb. 12 directive.

Anyone with a prohibited item will not be able to enter the building with it, Bogojevic said. A person who refuses screening will not be permitted to enter.

Weapons screening will take place at four locations in the Capitol.

The primary public entrance will be the main south entrance underneath the Capitol steps.

Additional entrances are the underground tunnels leading to the Capitol from:

• the Minnesota Senate Building;
• parking Lot C adjacent to the State Office Building; and
• the Minnesota Judicial Center.

All entrances and screening areas are ADA accessible.

The Capitol will be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to Bogojevic, but these hours will be extended if official legislative business is being conducted outside of that.

The new security measures were authorized by an executive order issued by Gov. Tim Walz on Jan. 26, which directed the public safety department to “put in place the equipment and trained personnel necessary to implement weapons screening to ensure that unlawful dangerous items are not introduced into the Minnesota State Capitol.”

The new security measures come from recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security outlined in its January 2026 annual report.

The advisory committee held monthly meetings between August and November after the assassination of House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark and the shooting of Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) in June.