A detailed 20-page complaint filed by federal prosecutors today reveals chilling details about the actions early Saturday by Vance Boelter, the suspect in targeted, political shootings that have left former Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark dead, and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife seriously injured.
Federal prosecutors say that after shooting Hoffman and his wife early Saturday morning, Boelter drove to an unnamed state representative's home in Maple Grove, Minnesota, still dressed as a police officer wearing a tactical vest, body armor, armed with a gun, and wearing a mask.
That representative was not home.
Boelter then drove to a state senator's home in New Hope. At that same time, a New Hope police officer had been dispatched to the home as part of a wellness check on the state senator who lived there, acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said Monday, providing a level of detail of the night in shocking fashion.
"The New Hope police officer pulled up next to Boelter, in his car, rolled down the window and attempted to speak with him," Thompson explains. "Boelter did not respond. According to the officer, he just sat there and stared straight ahead. So the New Hope police officer who had been dispatched to the scene, proceeded to the state senator's home, and she waited for other law enforcement to arrive. When they did, by the time they did, Boelter had left the scene."
Thompson says that's when Belter drove to the home of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, where he killed them after briefly exchanging gunfire with police.
"It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares," Thompson added.
Authorities declined to name the two other elected officials whom Boelter allegedly stalked but who escaped harm. But it was clear the shootings were politically motivated, they said.
“This was a targeted attack against individuals who answered the call to public service,” said Alvin Winston, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis field office. The resulting search, he said, was the largest manhunt in the history of the state.
Federal charges filed along with state charges
The details released Monday came after a massive, multi-day manhunt. The 57-year old Boelter is now facing a litany of serious federal charges stemming from a meticulously planned attack.
The US Attorney's Office has detailed six federal counts against him. Two counts of stalking the Hortmans, two counts of murder for the use of a firearm, and two counts of firearm charges for the shooting of John and Yvette Hoffman.
"This was a political assassination, which is not a word we use very often in the United States, let alone here in Minnesota," Thompson says. "It's a chilling attack on our democracy, on our way of life. It's only the most recent example of violent political extremism in this country and that's a trend that's been increasing over in recent years."
Thompson adds that he hope this is a wake up call that people can disagree with without "being evil or needing to be killed or hurt."
Boelter, who had no significant prior criminal record, is scheduled for his first federal court appearance later Monday afternoon where officials say the death penalty could be on the table. He's currently in federal custody in St. Paul.
Boelter is also being charged in Hennepin County with second-degree murder and County Attorney Mary Moriarty says they'll also pursue first-degree murder charges. U.S. Attorney Thompson says the federal charges will be litigated first but it does not stop state charges against Boelter from proceeding.
What has crystallized in terrifying fashion Monday was a plan by Boelter to kill numerous politicians, all Democrats. A list of 45, at least, names were found in notebooks which law enforcement and the FBI are currently combing through to determine who could actually have been targets.
"Additional attacks were planned and law enforcement were able to stop that," said Superintendent Drew Evans of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The list with 45 names include names from out-of-state and the FBI is coordinating that investigation. Evans says many lists and notes were found and they're trying to clarify what it all means.
Though the targets were Democrats and elected officials, Thompson said it was too soon to speculate on any sort of political ideology that could explain his motives.
Boelter’s wife consented to a search of her phone by law enforcement, according to an FBI affidavit that cites from a text from Boelter to a family group chat: “Dad went to war last night ... I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody.”
Who were the victims?
Melissa Hortman was a lifelong Minneapolis-area resident who rose up to become a powerful Democratic leader in the state's deeply divided Legislature.
Elected to the Minnesota House in 2004, she helped pass liberal initiatives like free lunches for public school students in 2023 as the chamber’s speaker. This year, she helped break a budget impasse that threatened to shut down state government.
State Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, who were shot at their home in Champlin, a Minneapolis suburb, were recovering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Hoffman is chair of the Senate committee overseeing human resources spending.
He also served on a state workforce development board with Boelter, who was twice appointed to the board. It was not clear if or how well they knew each other.