MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man who posed as a police officer and knocked on lawmakers’ doors in the middle of the night, killing the top Democrat in the state House and her husband and wounding a state senator and his wife, pleaded guilty to murder on Thursday so that federal prosecutors would not seek the death penalty.
The attacks by Vance Boelter, 58, sparked the largest search for a suspect in state history. They also reverberated far beyond Minnesota, as elected officials across the country feared that escalating threats and polarization could lead to more violence.
There were brief sobs from the courtroom gallery on Thursday as family members of Melissa and Mark Hortman sat alongside Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, while the chilling events of June 14, 2025, were described in great detail.
Disguised with a tactical uniform and realistic mask that covered his entire head, Boelter drove a fake police SUV with lights flashing to the legislators’ homes. As his federal defense attorney questioned him about his actions, including whether he pressed a gun to Melissa Hortman’s head and fired, Boelter repeatedly said a simple “yes.” The Hortman family’s golden retriever was so gravely injured that it had to be euthanized.
U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said in a press conference Thursday that they believed the case was charged appropriately and “death penalty-eligible.” He said the death penalty was only taken off the table with Boelter’s agreement to the longest possible prison sentence: two consecutive life terms, plus 40 years, for the six federal charges.