Suspect in Minnesota lawmaker shootings changes plea to guilty

Vance Boelter, the man accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers, killing one, changed his plea to guilty on Thursday.

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Boelter is accused of fatally shooting Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and injuring state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, in June 2025. He faces federal charges including murder, attempted murder and firearms violations, which have maximum penalties of up to life in prison or death. 

Boelter initially pleaded not guilty to the charges. As part of his plea agreement, federal prosecutors said they will not seek the death penalty against him. He pleaded guilty Thursday to “two counts of stalking, two counts of murder and two counts of discharging a firearm relating to a crime of violence,” local Minneapolis station KARE 11 reported.

According to the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota, Boelter impersonated a police officer and traveled to the homes of Democratic state lawmakers “with the intent to intimidate and murder.”

He first went to Hoffman’s home, where he repeatedly shot the state senator and his wife and attempted to shoot their daughter, prosecutors say. Later that day, according to officials, he traveled to Hortman’s home, where he killed her and her husband.