vance boelter avoids death penalty after guilty plea in minnesota lawmaker killings
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this booking photo released by the hennepin county sheriff's office on june 16, 2025, shows vance boelter at the hennepin county jail in minnesota.
hennepin county sheriff's office
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minnesota man vance boelter has pleaded guilty to carrying out a deadly attack that prosecutors described as a politically motivated assassination targeting elected democrats.
boelter, who had originally pleaded not guilty, changed his plea thursday after reaching a deal with federal prosecutors. in return, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty, according to nbc news.
under the plea agreement, boelter is expected to receive two consecutive life sentences plus another 40 years in prison, reports cbs news. a judge approved the deal and ordered an expedited sentencing process, with hopes of holding the hearing before the end of july. while the final decision rests with the court, the judge indicated the recommended sentence will likely be accepted.
a federal grand jury indicted boelter last year on six charges, including stalking and murder through the use of a firearm, tied to a shocking series of shootings on june 14, 2025.
minnesota state representative melissa hortman, left, and minnesota state senator john hoffman. boelter pled guilty to killing hortman and her husband and wounding the other, senator hoffman, in what prosecutors are describing as politically motivated attacks targeting elected democrats.
paul battaglia
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minnesota state legislature/afp
police-style disguise
authorities say boelter disguised himself as a police officer and set out to target democratic lawmakers at their homes. one of those attacks ended with the deaths of former minnesota house speaker melissa hortman and her husband, mark, at their residence in brooklyn park. investigators say the gunman arrived wearing a police-style disguise and driving a fake squad car. the couple’s golden retriever was also critically wounded in the attack and later had to be euthanized, reports cnn.
before arriving at the hortmans’ home, boelter allegedly attacked democratic state sen. john hoffman and his wife, yvette hoffman, at their home in nearby champlin, per nbc news. both survived despite being shot multiple times. former u.s. attorney joseph thompson said boelter also tried to kill the couple’s daughter, hope, but her parents shielded her from the gunfire.
this unlocated handout photo released by the ramsey county sheriff’s office on june 15, 2025 shows vance boelter as he was being apprehended after a two-day manhunt.
ramsey county sheriff's office
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‘this is the police! open the door!’
investigators say boelter went to extraordinary lengths to make his disguise believable. according to nbc news, he wore a “hyper realistic” silicone face mask along with a tactical vest and body armour. armed with a handgun and flashlight, he reportedly pounded on the hoffmans’ door while yelling, “this is the police! open the door!”
after shooting the hoffmans, authorities say boelter drove to the homes of two other state officials, who were not there, before continuing to the hortmans’ residence. details released by the u.s. attorney’s office for the district of minnesota suggest the attacks were carefully planned.
the manhunt that followed lasted two days and ended when officers found boelter crawling through a rural field, according to nbc news.
politically motivated attacks?
prosecutors have consistently described the attacks as political. they also released a handwritten letter allegedly sent by boelter to fbi director kash patel in which he confessed to the shootings. however, the letter did not clearly explain why the hortmans and hoffmans were targeted, reports cnn.
the attacks sent shockwaves through minnesota and reignited concerns about rising political violence in the united states, reports the new york times. they also transformed the state’s political culture. lawmakers who once publicly listed their home addresses have removed personal information from their websites, and security checkpoints have since been installed at the minnesota state capitol.
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