Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday they will not seek the death penalty as part of a plea agreement with the man accused of assassinating a Minnesota state representative and her husband, and attempting to murder a state senator and his wife.
Plea Agreement Details
Vance Boelter, 58, is scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing Thursday morning in federal court in Minneapolis. Assistant U.S. attorneys Bradley M. Endicott and Matthew D. Forbes wrote in a letter to the court that the Attorney General authorized the government not to seek the death penalty against Boelter under the terms of a proposed plea agreement.
Victims and Attack
Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed, while state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were wounded in the early hours of June 14, 2025. The assailant, disguised as a police officer and driving a fake squad car, shot the victims at their homes.
Boelter was captured near his home in rural Green Isle late the next day after what prosecutors described as the largest search for a suspect in Minnesota history. He faces federal and state charges including murder, attempted murder, and other offenses.
Boelter's attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
