U.S. prosecutors announced Wednesday that they would not seek the death penalty for the man charged with the political assassination of a high-ranking Minnesota House Democrat and her husband and the attempted murders of a state senator and his wife. The agreement was part of a plea deal reached ahead of a change-of-plea hearing scheduled for Thursday morning in Minneapolis federal court.“The Attorney General has authorized and directed the government not to seek the death penalty against Defendant Vance Luther Boelter in accordance with the terms delineated in a proposed plea agreement,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley M. Endicott and Matthew D. Forbes wrote in a letter to the court Wednesday.
Last year, Vance Boelter was indicted on six federal charges, including stalking, murder through the use of a firearm, and other charges related to the killings.
In this courtroom sketch, Vance Boelter, right, who is charged with killing one Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another, is seen at a federal court hearing Monday, June 16, 2025, in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Cedric Hohnstadt via AP)
Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, were allegedly shot and killed by Boelter in the early hours of June 14, 2025. That same night, state Sen. John Hoffman was shot nine times and his wife, Yvette, eight times, yet both survived the assassination attempt. Boelter allegedly came to the lawmakers’ doors disguised as a police officer while driving a fake squad car. He was captured the next day near his home in the rural town of Green Isle after an extensive search.
