Vance Boelter pleads guilty to Hortman killings, Hoffman shootings

Vance Boelter pleaded guilty on Thursday to the murders of former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman, one of Minnesota’s most consequential legislative leaders, and her husband, Mark, as well as the shooting of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.

The shocking acts of violence nearly a year ago to the day scarred the state and injected a new level of fear into politics.

Boelter, 58, shuffled into the federal courtroom in downtown Minneapolis, wearing orange prison garb, white velcro sneakers and shackles around his ankles. He was unemotional as he told the judge he was of a clear mind and understood the six federal charges against him.

Hoffman sat on the edge of his seat next to his wife, Yvette, in the front row of the packed courtroom. With narrowed eyes he stared at the man who showed up to his home impersonating a police officer and shot him and his wife several times before driving to his longtime colleague’s home and murdering her.

The Hortmans’ children, Colin and Sophie, were also in the courtroom along with several state lawmakers, listening to Boelter acknowledge the facts of the case as his public defense attorney, Manvir Atwal, recited them:

Yes, he planned the murders months in advance. He recorded the addresses of targets and bought a GPS device, a highly realistic silicone mask and supplies at Fleet Farm to fashion a fake police license plate.

He went to the Hoffmans in the early hours of June 14, rang the doorbell and shouted, “This is the police. Open the door.” He shot Hoffman and his wife multiple times.

Boelter then drove to another lawmaker’s house, Rep. Kristin Bahner, who was on vacation, and then a third, Sen. Ann Rest, where he was seen by a real police officer who assumed he was conducting a welfare check. He left after the officer unsuccessfully sought his attention.

He then drove to the Hortmans in Brooklyn Park and parked his Ford Explorer with fake police lights turned on in their driveway. He rang the doorbell and said he was conducting a welfare check. He told Mark Hortman he needed to see Melissa and then shot him. He shot Melissa multiple times as she tried to flee up the stairs.

Boelter’s attorney asked him, did you put the gun to Hortman’s head and pull the trigger?

Yes, he said, drawing cries from the courtroom.

Boelter pleaded guilty to all the governments’ charges: two counts of stalking Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman; two counts of murder in the killings of the Hortmans; and two firearms offenses in the shootings of the Hortmans and the Hoffmans, and the attempted shooting of Hope Hoffman, who managed to call 911 amid the bloody attack.

Boelter will serve two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years under the plea agreement, which must be approved by the court. U.S. District Judge John Tunheim said he planned to hold an expedited sentencing hearing for Boelter by the end of July, noting the pending state murder charges against him.

In a news conference after the plea hearing, U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen called the attack “among the worst political violence crimes that we have seen.”

He added: “Those that would commit political violence at any level should take heed that the Department of Justice will seek and obtain the longest prison terms available for your crimes.”

Rosen’s office has been weighing the death penalty for months, at one point drawing questions from a federal magistrate judge, who asked if the government had enough staff available to handle the case given the exodus of attorneys during Operation Metro Surge.

Rosen said there are no staffing issues in his office, and he said they would have prevailed in getting the death penalty had they taken the case to trial.

“The truth is, when you have a defendant that is prepared to plead guilty, take consecutive life terms to ensure that he never sees freedom again in his entire life, that was an opportunity that we just could not pass up,” Rosen said.

The guilty plea is an important marker in Minnesota’s recovery from the most brutal political violence in recent history, even as the Hortmans’ wide circle of friends and admirers grieve their killing on June 14, 2025.

A guilty plea saves the Hortman children from a painful trial, during which Boelter might reiterate baseless conspiracy theories he’s expressed in media interviews rationalizing his behavior.

The Hoffmans released a statement saying, in part, that “while the legal process may provide accountability, true healing requires something more from all of us.”

The killings have drawn significant scrutiny of the local police’s response. Boelter led law enforcement on the largest manhunt in state history, evading capture for 43 hours. He escaped the Hortmans’ home on foot despite the heavy police presence, while authorities required three hours to launch a helicopter.

Early in his escape, he met a person at a bus stop in north Minneapolis who agreed to sell him a Buick and e-bike. The pair took the bus to the person’s home and then drove to a U.S. Bank branch in Robbinsdale, where Boelter emptied an account to purchase the vehicle and the bike for about $900.

Boelter was eventually found near his home in Green Isle, Minnesota, near where he abandoned the Buick on the side of a highway.

Remembering Melissa Hortman: Republicans and Democrats say her power came from her selflessness

Investigators found a list of targets comprising 45 state and federal officials along with their addresses in a notebook in his abandoned Ford Explorer, along with five firearms including semi-automatic, assault-style rifles and a large quantity of ammunition.

His targets mostly included Democratic elected officials and abortion rights advocates, though right-wing influencers spread disinformation that he was acting at the direction of Democrats angered about a Hortman vote for a budget that took away public health insurance for undocumented immigrants.

Despite the criticism of law enforcement’s delayed response, Rosen said he thought they did an “outstanding job.” Leaders of the police departments for Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park and Champlin attended the news conference but declined to take questions.

Colleagues from both parties knew Hortman — who led House Democrats to the majority in 2018 and served as speaker until 2024 — as a witty and shrewd legislator who eschewed the spotlight and concerned herself with the health and wellbeing of both members and staff. She became a key governing partner to Gov. Tim Walz, who viewed her as a potential successor.

Along with the late Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, Hortman pushed through the most ambitious progressive agenda in recent history during the 2023-24 Democratic trifecta, during which lawmakers created a paid leave program; passed gun control measures; raised taxes for transportation and housing; fully legalized cannabis; provided universal free breakfast and lunch for public school children; created a massive, steeply graduated child tax credit; and crafted laws to protect workers, among dozens of other provisions.