Vance Boelter walked into federal court Thursday and entered a guilty plea to murdering Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, as well as shooting state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. The plea came after federal prosecutors announced they would not pursue capital punishment.
The 58-year-old from rural Green Isle carried out the attacks on June 14, 2025, arriving at the victims' homes dressed as a police officer and driving a counterfeit squad car. He was arrested the following day following what authorities described as the largest manhunt in Minnesota history.
Boelter faces separate state charges that have been held in abeyance pending resolution of the federal case. A spokesperson for the Hennelag County Attorney's Office said the federal plea agreement would not affect those state proceedings.
Prosecutors characterized the shootings as politically motivated. When the federal indictment was announced in July, they released a handwritten letter they attributed to Boelter addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel in which he confessed to the attacks. The letter contained no clear explanation for why he targeted either the Hortmans or the Hoffmans.
In communications with media outlets, Boelter referenced an undefined "investigation" he claimed to have been conducting, at times connecting it to COVID-19 vaccines.
Those who knew Boelter described him as an evangelical Christian who occasionally preached and did missionary work. He held conservative political views and had struggled with employment.
John Hoffman filed a lawsuit in April stating his left arm and hand would likely never fully recover from the shooting, and that he sustained permanent injuries to his digestive and urinary systems. Yvette Hoffman was left with lasting physical weakness. Their adult daughter Hope, who was present and called 911 but was not shot, experienced severe psychological trauma.
The Hortmans' golden retriever was so severely wounded that it had to be euthanized.
Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911 and has never had a federal death penalty case. Questions had existed about whether Boelter's case would qualify for capital punishment under federal law, particularly given that the Trump administration has sought expanded use of the death penalty in federal proceedings.
Author James Rodriguez: "This plea deal ends the death penalty question, but the real story is how an evangelical Christian with work troubles became convinced that elected officials needed to be executed."
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