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Man charged in Minnesota assassination could face federal death penalty

A SWAT team searches for Vance Boelter outside of Green Isle, Minn., on Sunday, June 15, 2025. After a gunman killed a lawmaker and wounded another, officials scrambled in what they called the largest manhunt in Minnesota’s history.  (Tim Gruber/The New York Times)
By Ernesto Londoño, Jeff Ernst, Yan Zhuang and David W. Chen New York Times

The man accused of killing a Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another in a campaign to “inflict fear” made a first appearance in federal court on Monday, as authorities described what they said were plans to carry out a wider killing spree aimed at Democratic politicians.

The suspect, Vance Boelter, 57, faces federal murder charges in the attack that killed a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband. Those charges could allow for the death penalty.

“This was a political assassination, which is not a word we use very often in the United States,” said Joseph H. Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for the district of Minnesota, during a news conference in Minneapolis.

Boelter was being held at the Hennepin County Jail in downtown Minneapolis. In his court appearance Monday, he was alert and direct, and made no eye contact with members of the public. The judge set a preliminary hearing for June 27.

Boelter has already been charged by state prosecutors with two counts of second-degree murder, for the fatal shootings of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and two counts of attempted second-degree murder for shooting and wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

Here’s what else to know:

The search: Boelter was captured late Sunday in the largest search in Minnesota’s history across a rural area southwest of Minneapolis, investigators said. He later confessed in a written note to the attacks, according to an FBI affidavit. Law enforcement officials found his car and hat in Sibley County on Sunday. SWAT drones tracked him crawling through brush, and he surrendered near Green Isle, Minnesota, a town where he had a home with his wife and children.

The victims: Melissa Hortman served as speaker of the Minnesota House for six years and helped pass key legislation on abortion rights, marijuana legalization and medical leave. John Hoffman, a fourth-term state senator, leads the Senate’s Human Services Committee. He and his wife were recovering, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota said Sunday.

Other lawmakers: In between Boelter’s visits to Hortman and Hoffman’s homes, he visited two other lawmakers, authorities said. State Sen. Ann Rest, a Democrat from suburban Minneapolis, said in a statement that she was told Boelter was parked near her home Saturday. She thanked the New Hope Police Department for its “heroic work,” saying “their quick action saved my life.”

State charges: State prosecutors are also expected to seek charges of first-degree murder, which would require a grand jury indictment and carry a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole, the Hennepin County attorney said Monday.

A list: The suspect had a notebook that mentioned about 70 potential targets, some in neighboring states, including politicians, civic leaders and Planned Parenthood centers, according to law enforcement officials.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.