Boelter Pleads Guilty in Federal Case Over Minnesota Lawmaker Attacks

(KNSI) – The man responsible for last summer’s attacks on two Minnesota lawmakers and their families has pleaded guilty in federal court.

Vance Luther Boelter admitted on Thursday to all six federal counts tied to the June 14th, 2025 shootings that killed former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and seriously wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. The counts include two counts of stalking, two counts of murder through use of a firearm, and two federal firearm-shooting offenses.

The Green Isle man appeared for a change-of-plea hearing before U.S. District Judge John Tunheim in Minneapolis, reversing the not guilty plea he had previously entered. Under the deal, federal prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office

Under the plea agreement, Boelter’s recommended sentence is two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in federal prison. Judge Tunheim said he will set a sentencing date within 10 days, with a hearing expected before the end of July.

Court documents say Boelter used GPS navigation, the internet, and other interstate systems to plan and carry out a coordinated series of attacks on the Hortman and Hoffman families in Brooklyn Park and Champlin. Authorities have said he disguised himself as a police officer, wearing tactical body armor and a realistic silicone mask, when he arrived armed at the lawmakers’ homes. Investigators say he left behind a list of nearly 70 names, along with assault-style rifles and a handgun in his vehicle.

Between the Hoffman and Hortman shootings, Boelter went to the homes of two other lawmakers, Representative Kristin Bahner of Maple Grove and Senator Ann Rest of New Hope, but did not make contact with either family. He was arrested in a field near his Green Isle home after a 43-hour search that has been described as the largest manhunt in state history.

U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said the Justice Department expects Boelter will spend the rest of his life in prison without parole, calling political violence a scourge on the nation and warning that prosecutors will pursue the longest possible terms for such offenses.

Boelter still faces separate state charges, including two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, and one count each of felony cruelty to an animal and impersonating an officer.

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