Vance Boelter, the Minnesota man accused of impersonating a law enforcement officer and fatally shooting the state’s former House speaker in what authorities have described as a politically motivated assassination, pleaded guilty Thursday.
Boelter initially pleaded not guilty, but federal prosecutors said that in exchange for a guilty plea, they would no longer pursue the death penalty.
Boelter, 58, dressed in an orange sweatsuit, responded “yes” when the judge asked whether he carried out the crimes, which killed Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and injured Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman.
He said he acted alone and researched the victims to gather information about them.
“You did that for stalking and ultimate killing?” the judge asked.
“Yes,” he responded.
Prosecutors recommended a sentence of two consecutive life terms, plus 40 years.
“Political violence is a scourge in our nation,” U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said in a statement. “We now expect Vance Boelter will spend the rest of his natural life in prison without parole.”
Boelter’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Hoffman family said in a statement that “there is no justice for Mark and Melissa Hortman, and there is not justice when our family and our state will never truly heal.”
“While the legal process may provide accountability, true healing requires something more from all of us,” they said. “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.”
A federal grand jury indicted Boelter last year on six counts, including stalking and murder through the use of a firearm, in connection with the shootings on June 14, 2025.
The Hortmans were gunned down and killed at their home in Brooklyn Park. The Hoffmans were shot and injured at their nearby home in Champlin. Former U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said that Boelter also tried to kill the couple’s daughter, Hope, but that Hoffman and his wife shielded her. She was not shot.
Authorities said Boelter disguised himself as a law enforcement officer and wore a “hyper realistic” silicone mask, a tactical vest and body armor on the night of the shootings.
Armed with a flashlight and a handgun, Boelter knocked on the Hoffmans’ door and shouted: “This is the police! Open the door!” He shot the senator and his wife multiple times before he drove to the homes of two other state officials, who were not home, then proceeded to the Hortmans’ residence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.
At Thursday’s hearing, the judge asked Boelter whether he falsely told the Hoffmans that a shooting had been reported and asked whether they had any guns.
“Yes,” Boelter responded, before he admitted firing multiple shots at them.
The judge asked whether he yelled, “Police, welfare check,” at the Hortmans’ home before he opened fire.
“Yes,” he said.
Boelter acknowledged that Mark Hortman had asked for his name and badge number and that he made one up.
He was arrested after a two-day manhunt, crawling in a field in a rural part of the state.
Authorities said Boelter left behind a notebook with a list of politicians from Minnesota, including Hoffman and Hortman, as well as lawmakers in Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan.
He previously claimed in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel that the state’s governor wanted him to kill two U.S. senators, according to officials. The letter was found in his car after the shootings. Thompson had said that the letter was part of an apparent attempt by Boelter to excuse his crimes and that there was no evidence he targeted the state’s two U.S. senators.
Boelter also faces state charges of first-degree premeditated murder, attempted first-degree murder, impersonating a police officer and felony cruelty to an animal for mortally wounding the Hortmans’ dog. The golden retriever, named Gilbert, had to be put down because of his injuries. Boelter has pleaded not guilty.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said Thursday that his plea to federal charges does not change the status of his state case.
“This was a devastating wave of targeted political violence that shocked our state and the nation. My thoughts are with the Hoffmans, and with Mark and Melissa’s family and loved ones as the federal phase ends and we approach state prosecution,” County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement.
