Suspect Arrested for Attack on Minnesota State Legislators
A gunman shot two Minnesota politicians and their spouses early in the morning of 14 June at their homes in an act of alleged targeted political violence.
Melissa Hortman, 55, the top Democratic legislator in the state House, and her husband, Mark, were both shot and killed. State Senator John Hoffman, 60, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were also shot in their home. Hoffman was hit by nine bullets, and his wife was struck by eight—both survived. Their daughter called 911 to report the attack.
Law enforcement had responded to Hoffman’s house, and they proactively decided to also check Hortman’s home in a nearby neighborhood. There, they saw a car with emergency lights out front and a man at the door dressed in blue with black body armor, apparently impersonating a police officer, NPR reported. The man shot at police and fled on foot at around 3:30 a.m.
The attacks kicked off a massive manhunt in Minnesota for the suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, 57.
Boelter was arrested yesterday evening and has been charged in the shootings. Authorities said investigators found a manifesto that included a list of names of politicians and others, and it is allegedly connected to Boelter. Lawmakers on the list were quickly alerted and checked on by police, according to MPR News.
About the Suspect
Details about the alleged attacker are still emerging.
Boelter runs an armed security service with his wife, WIRED reported, and he served for a time as the president of an evangelical ministry. He recently picked up jobs at funeral service companies removing dead bodies from houses and nursing homes.
The hit list in the alleged suspect’s car included politicians, abortion providers, and pro-abortion rights advocates. There were also fliers for this weekend’s “No Kings” protests against U.S. President Donald Trump. Law enforcement officials said that Boelter possessed a notebook that mentioned about 70 potential targets, primarily Democrats or organizations related to abortion.
Before the attacks, the suspect emptied his bank account and gave four months’ worth of advance rent payments to his friend. Boelter texted his friend the morning of the shooting to say that he had made some bad choices and might be dead soon. His friend called the police to report his concerns after finding Boelter missing from his room.
The suspect was charged with two state counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder. Investigators are still determing if he will be charged with additional felonies.
Political Violence
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the shooting “appears to be a politically motivated assassination,” but the exact motive remains unclear.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI are investigating the attack, “and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America.”
Lawmakers across the United States launched into security revisions just hours after the shootings. Michigan State Police held security briefings for legislators; police in Fairfax County, Virginia, increased patrols around lawmakers’ homes; and North Dakota officials scrubbed home addresses from legislators’ biography pages, The New York Times reported.
Lawmakers often share their home addresses to reassure constituents that they are part of the community, but most state politicians have no special security protection when outside government buildings. In addition, it’s difficult—if not impossible—to obscure identifiable personal information already in the open.
“When lawmakers want to limit what personal information is available about them, there are limiting factors,” the Times added. “Some campaign finance forms and other public documents list politicians’ addresses and phone numbers. And because elected officials must generally live in the districts they represent, there is a level of accountability in the public knowing where a lawmaker claims to live.”
This attack is the latest in a number of political violence incidents in the United States, including assassination attempts on then-presidential candidate Trump in 2024. Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion was damaged in an apparent arson attack whle the governor and his family were inside. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked during a politically motivated home invasion in 2022.
Threats against members of Congress skyrocketed in 2024, Axios reported. The Capitol Police opened 9.474 investigations into threats against members of Congress, their families, and staffers in 2024, compared to just over 8,000 in 2023.
Mass protests continue to be hotspots for clashes, as well. The “No Kings” protests this weekend also included isolated incidents of violence. In Salt Lake City, Utah, a protester was fatally shot and another was injured. In Riverside, California, a driver of an SUV allegedly struck a woman participating in a demonstration and sped away. At another protest in Culpeper, Virginia, a driver in an SUV intentionally drove into a crowd, hitting at least one person, authorities alleged. The driver was arrested and charged with reckless driving.
Overall, the protests were largely peaceful nationwide, even though some violent white supremacist groups were advocating violence at the events, including vehicle ramming attacks, according to a briefing from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.
For more about political violence and unrest, see the Security Management series from October 2024.
