Vance Boelter Pleads Guilty in 2025 Minnesota Killings, Accepting 2 Life Terms Plus 40 Years
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 11
Vance Boelter Pleads Guilty in 2025 Minnesota Killings, Accepting 2 Life Terms Plus 40 Years
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 11
Summary
Boelter, 58, admitted in federal court that he killed House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife to avoid a possible death sentence.
Months of planning underpinned the attacks: prosecutors said he identified elected officials to target, stalked them, then arrived at homes before dawn on June 14, 2025, disguised as a police officer.
The plea agreement details how Boelter used a fake badge number and police-style SUV to enter the Hortmans' home, then shot Mark Hortman at the door and Melissa Hortman as she tried to flee upstairs.
Federal prosecutors said the deal secures the maximum available sentence on six charges, while Hennepin County said separate state murder, attempted murder and impersonation charges remain pending.
The shootings triggered Minnesota's largest police search and renewed alarm over political violence, with John Hoffman saying legal accountability alone cannot heal the family or the state.