Assassin of Minnesota Lawmaker Facing Federal Charges, Went to Homes of Four Lawmakers

Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News)- The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Minnesota has announced charges against the man accused of murdering Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark and shooting Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. 

See Also: Several Guns Found in SUV of Minnesota Shooter 

57-year-old Vance Boelter was captured in south-central Minnesota’s Sibley County after a more than 40 hour manhunt that authorities described as the “largest in state history.” 

The Faribault Police Department says their drone and drone operator located Boelter and provided law enforcement with intelligence regarding Boelter’s whereabouts near his Green Ise, MN home. 

DFL House Leader Hortman was pronounced dead at her home and her husband Mark was taken to a hospital where he died from his wounds, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office. 

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The autopsies determined the Hortmans died by homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds. 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a text message she received from Yvette Hoffman saying the couple is recovering from their gunshot wounds. 

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged Hortman with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder. 

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said during a news conference her office is seeking a first-degree murder indictment, which can only be handed down by a grand jury in Minnesota. 

Six Federal Charges Filed Against Suspect in Lawmaker's Death

On Monday, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson announced Boelter has been charged in federal court with two counts of murder for the death of the Hortmans, two counts of stalking and two counts connected to the shooting of the Hoffmans. 

Thompson said Boelter went to two other lawmaker’s homes. One was the home of an unidentified state house representative in Maple Grove but she was not home. 

Boelter was also spotted outside of the New Hope home of a state senator. Thompson says a New Hope officer responding to a welfare check at the elected official’s home encountered Boelter in a vehicle made to look like a squad car. 

The officer rolled down her squad’s window to attempt to talk to Boelter but Boelter did not acknowledge the officer. The officer then went to check on the unnamed lawmaker, Thompson said. 

During a question and answer period with reporters, Thompson confirmed a list found during the investigation was made up of elected DFL officials and abortion clinics. 

He said the motive for the shootings is unclear at this time but did call the case an assassination. Boelter is due to make his first appearance in federal court Monday afternoon.