Suspect in Minnesota political killings pleads guilty in federal case

Vance Boelter is accused of killing state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband.

Vance Boelter, the man charged in the attacks against Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota , changed his plea to guilty in his federal case on Thursday, according to ABC Minneapolis affiliate KSTP.

John and Yvette Hoffman sat in the front row of the federal courtroom as Boelter admitted to firing multiple shots at them, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

When Boelter admitted that he shot Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman several times and then put a gun to her head and killed her, sobs broke out in the courtroom, KSTP reported.

Boelter initially pleaded not guilty to six federal counts, including murder, attempted murder and stalking.

This week, a Justice Department spokesperson said federal prosecutors would not seek the death penalty because a federal judge ruled earlier this year in an unrelated murder case that interstate stalking charges do not rise to the level to support a capital crime.

The crimes unfolded on June 14, 2025, when Boelter allegedly disguised himself as a police officer and fatally shot Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home.

That same day he allegedly drove to the home of Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and shot the lawmaker and his wife, Yvette, and attempted to shoot their daughter, according to prosecutors.

Following the attacks, police said they found a notebook in Boelter's abandoned, fake police car containing a list of elected officials who investigators suspect were targeted in a plot that the Minnesota U.S. attorney described at the time as the "stuff of nightmares."

Prosecutors said Boelter traveled to the homes of two other state lawmakers only to find no one at those locations.

Boelter has also pleaded not guilty to state charges of murder and attempted murder.

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