Boelter expected to plead guilty in Minnesota lawmaker shootings

Vance Boelter, the man accused of killing former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and wounding a state senator and his wife, is expected to plead guilty Thursday to federal charges after prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

Court records show U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen requested a change-of-plea hearing for Boelter, 58, who had previously pleaded not guilty. A judge scheduled the hearing for 10 a.m. local time, NBC News reported. Federal officials, including Rosen, the FBI and other law enforcement partners, are expected to hold a news conference afterward.

Boelter faces six federal charges, including two counts of stalking, two counts of murder and two counts of firearms violations in the June 14, 2025, shootings. The attack killed Hortman, a Democratic state representative, and her husband, Mark, at their Brooklyn Park home. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot and injured at their nearby home in Champlin.

Federal prosecutors said the decision not to pursue capital punishment is part of a proposed plea agreement. “The Attorney General has authorized and directed the government not to seek the death penalty against Defendant Vance Luther Boelter in accordance with the terms delineated in a proposed plea agreement,” Rosen’s letter reads in part.

Authorities have described the attacks as politically motivated. NBC News reported that Boelter was accused of impersonating a law enforcement officer during the shootings and wearing a “hyper realistic” silicone face mask, tactical vest and body armor. Armed with a flashlight and handgun, he allegedly knocked on the Hoffmans’ door and shouted, “This is the police! Open the door!” before shooting the senator and his wife multiple times, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.

Former U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said Boelter also attempted to kill the Hoffmans’ daughter, Hope, but her parents shielded her and she was not shot, NBC News reported.

After leaving the Hoffmans’ home, Boelter drove to the homes of two other state officials who were not home, then went to the Hortmans’ residence, according to NBC News. He was arrested after a two-day manhunt, found crawling in a field in a rural part of Minnesota.

Authorities said Boelter left behind a notebook containing a list of politicians from Minnesota, including Hoffman and Hortman, as well as lawmakers in Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan, NBC News reported. Officials also said Boelter previously claimed in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel that Minnesota’s governor wanted him to kill two U.S. senators. Thompson said the letter, found in Boelter’s car after the shootings, appeared to be an effort to excuse his crimes and said there was no evidence he had targeted the state’s two U.S. senators.

Boelter also faces state charges, including two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count each of felony cruelty to an animal and impersonating an officer. A guilty verdict on one first-degree murder charge carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Boelter has pleaded not guilty to the state charges, NBC News reported.

The Hoffman family has also filed a civil lawsuit against Boelter, accusing him of assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and negligence per se, according to the complaint.