Vance Boelter Pleads Guilty To Murder Of State Rep. Melissa Hortman 

Vance Boelter, the man accused of fatally shooting Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, has pleaded guilty to their killings.

NBC News reports that Boelter, 58, initially pleaded not guilty, but decided to change his plea after prosecutors said they wouldn’t pursue the death penalty. Boelter appeared in federal court on Thursday morning, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of stalking, two counts of murder, and two counts of discharging a firearm relating to a crime of violence. 

Prosecutors recommended a sentence of two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years, though U.S. District Judge John Tunheim will ultimately decide Boelter’s final sentence. He did not set a date for sentencing. 

On June 14, 2025, Boelter arrived at state Sen. John Hoffman’s home dressed as a police officer. He wore tactical gear, a police-style badge, and a silicone mask, according to CNN. When Hoffman answered the door, Boelter shot Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, critically injuring them. The shooting spurred Minneapolis police to conduct a wellness check at Melissa Hortman’s home. By the time they arrived, Boelter was already firing shots into the home, killing Hortman and her husband.

Boelter managed to escape by firing at the officers, leaving behind a hit list with over 70 names on it, along with three AK-47s. 

Minneapolis law enforcement conducted a 43-hour manhunt, the largest in the state’s history, before finding Boelter in a field only a mile away from his home. Prosecutors said Boelter went to the homes of two other Minnesota lawmakers after the initial shootings, but was unable to make contact with them. Investigators found a handwritten letter in Boelter’s abandoned car addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel, where Boelter admitted to the shootings, but didn’t give a reason for why he did it. 

Boelter’s friends and family have described him as a devout Christian and politically conservative. Investigators believe the shootings were politically motivated, as the victims were both Democratic state legislators, and Boelter’s hit list consisted of other state lawmakers as well as abortion rights advocates and health care officials. 

Federal prosecutors accused Boelter of conducting “a planned campaign of stalking and violence, designed to inflict fear, injure, and kill members of the Minnesota state legislature and their families,” in an affidavit. 

John Hoffman filed a lawsuit against Boelter in April, where he disclosed that his left arm and hand will probably never fully recover, with his digestive and urinary systems also suffering permanent damage due to the shooting. The lawsuit added that Hoffman’s wife, Yvette, was left with permanent physical weakness and that their adult daughter, Hope Hoffman, who was home at the time of the shooting but was not shot, suffered severe psychological trauma.

Hoffman and his family were present in the courtroom when Boelter pleaded guilty. 

KARE 11 reports that Boelter still faces state charges, including two counts of first-degree premeditated murder and four counts of attempted first-degree murder, though those charges were put on hold pending the results of the federal trial. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office told AP that Boelter’s guilty plea won’t have any impact on his state charges. 

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