The man charged with the political assassinations of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, as well as the attempted murders of state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, is scheduled to appear in federal court on Thursday to change his not-guilty plea. This development follows a notification from the U.S.
attorney's office in Minneapolis that the Justice Department will not seek the death penalty against Vance Boelter, 58, as part of a proposed plea agreement. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed in court filings.
Boelter is accused of carrying out the attacks in the early hours of June 14, 2025, when he allegedly approached the victims' homes disguised as a police officer and driving a fake squad car. The Hortmans were killed, and the Hoffmans were seriously wounded.
The Hortmans' golden retriever was also shot and had to be euthanized due to the severity of its injuries. Boelter was captured near his home in rural Green Isle the following day after what prosecutors described as the largest manhunt in Minnesota history.
Federal prosecutors have characterized the shootings as politically motivated. When the federal indictment was announced in July, they released a handwritten letter allegedly written by Boelter to FBI Director Kash Patel, in which he confessed to the attacks.
However, the letter did not clarify why the Hortmans or the Hoffmans were targeted. In messages to media, Boelter referenced a vague "investigation" he claimed to be conducting, sometimes linking it to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Boelter faces both federal and state charges, including murder and attempted murder. His state case has been on hold pending the resolution of federal charges.
Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, stated that the federal plea deal would not affect the state charges. Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911 and has never had a federal death penalty case, though the Trump administration has pushed for greater use of the death penalty.
Friends described Boelter as an evangelical Christian and occasional preacher who held conservative political views and had been struggling to find work. In a lawsuit filed in April, John Hoffman stated that his left arm and hand likely will never fully recover, and he also suffered permanent injuries to his digestive and urinary systems.
Yvette Hoffman was left with permanent physical weakness, while their adult daughter, Hope Hoffman, who was present and called 911 but was not shot, experienced severe psychological trauma.