MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Vance Boelter pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges in the politically motivated shootings that killed former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette on June 14, 2025.
The 58-year-old defendant changed his plea from not guilty during a 10 a.m. hearing in federal court, accepting a deal that spares him the death penalty in exchange for two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years. Judge John R. Tunheim approved the plea agreement and ordered expedited sentencing before the end of July. Boelter pleaded guilty to six federal counts: two stalking charges, two murder counts and two firearms violations.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen called the case “among the worst political violence crimes that we have seen” during a news conference following the hearing. “The terms of our offer to Mr. Boelter were: if you plead guilty and take consecutive life sentences, we will take the death penalty off the table,” Rosen said. The decision not to seek capital punishment was contingent solely on Boelter accepting the proposed plea agreement, according to a Wednesday letter from the Justice Department. “That was the only circumstance under which the death penalty was off the table,” Rosen explained.
The attacks unfolded when Boelter disguised himself as a police officer, wearing a “hyper realistic” silicone face mask, tactical vest and body armor. Armed with a flashlight and handgun, he first went to the Champlin home of Sen. John Hoffman, knocking repeatedly and shouting “This is the police! Open the door!” When the family opened the door and became alarmed by his face mask, Boelter opened fire as they tried to close the door. John Hoffman was shot nine times, while his wife Yvette sustained eight gunshot wounds. Boelter also pointed a gun at their daughter Hope’s head, but she was able to call 911 for help.
After leaving the Hoffman residence, Boelter visited homes of two other Democratic lawmakers who were not present, then proceeded to the Brooklyn Park home of Melissa and Mark Hortman. Law enforcement officers were already conducting a welfare check at the property when they spotted Boelter near the front door. He fired several shots inside the home, killing both Melissa and Mark Hortman. During Thursday’s hearing, when Boelter admitted to shooting Hortman multiple times as she tried to flee, then pressing his 9mm gun to her head and firing, sobs broke out in the courtroom. The couple’s golden retriever was severely injured in the attack and had to be euthanized.
A search of Boelter’s abandoned fake police vehicle revealed extensive planning for the attacks. Authorities recovered five firearms, including semi-automatic assault-style rifles, large quantities of ammunition, and several notebooks containing handwritten lists. The notebooks included names and home addresses of dozens of Minnesota state and federal elected officials. A letter Boelter wrote to the FBI after the shootings but before his capture following a 43-hour manhunt contained largely incoherent rambling, including claims about needing to kill officials so Gov. Tim Walz could run for U.S. Senate, though Walz was not running for that office.
Both the Hortman and Hoffman families attended Thursday’s hearing, with John and Yvette Hoffman sitting in the front row as Boelter admitted to firing multiple shots at them. The Hoffman family released a statement saying “There is no justice for Mark and Melissa Hortman, and there is not justice when our family and our state will never truly heal.” They added: “The choice we’ve made is to go forward with public service and being present for our community. The opportunity to justice is for Minnesotans and Americans to serve is to treat people with respect, to stop de-humanizing each other, and to stop dividing our country with hate and rhetoric.” The family has also filed a civil lawsuit against Boelter, accusing him of assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
Despite the federal plea agreement, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced that state charges against Boelter will proceed. At the state level, he faces two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, felony cruelty to an animal and impersonating a police officer. “Mr. Boelter will sit in a Hennepin County courtroom and be held accountable for his actions,” Moriarty said. “This was a devastating wave of targeted political violence that shocked our state and the nation.” A conviction on first-degree murder charges carries a life sentence without possibility of parole, and state sentences are not eligible for presidential pardons.
Sen. John Hoffman returned to the state Capitol in February 2026 after months of hospitalization and recovery, receiving a standing ovation from colleagues. “When you survive an attempted assassination, you look at the world differently,” Hoffman told fellow senators. “The noise fades, and that posturing fades. The chatter becomes irrelevant. What remains is what is truly important – Family, community and the responsibility that we have to care for one another.” The 2026 legislative session began with House leaders holding a remembrance for Melissa Hortman, honoring her service as the former House Speaker who was fatally shot at age 53.
Boelter now awaits formal sentencing this summer, where he faces spending the rest of his natural life in federal prison without possibility of parole. The state case will proceed separately, with Hennepin County working to transfer Boelter into their custody for prosecution on the additional charges.
