Vance Boelter pleaded guilty Thursday to the murder of former state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, and the shootings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman.
The plea agreement calls for two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in federal prison. U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim said he will set a date for sentencing within 10 days, with a hearing before the end of July.
The guilty plea is an important marker in Minnesota’s recovery from the most brutal political violence in recent history, even as the Hortmans’ wide circle of friends and admirers grieve their killing on June 14, 2025.
The guilty plea saves the Hortman children, Colin and Sophie Hortman, from a painful trial, during which Boelter might reiterate baseless conspiracy theories he’s expressed in media interviews rationalizing his behavior.
Boelter pled guilty to two counts of stalking Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman; two counts of murder in the killings of the Hortmans; and two firearms offenses in the shootings of the Hortmans and the Hoffmans, and the attempted shooting of Hope Hoffman, who managed to call 911 amidst the bloody attack.
After Boelter shot the Hoffmans, he went to two other Democratic state lawmakers’ homes before killing the Hortmans.
One of those homes was empty — state Rep. Kristin Bahner of Maple Grove was on vacation with her family. Down the street from the home of Sen. Ann Rest in New Hope, a police officer going to check on the senator encountered Boelter, who was dressed like a police officer and sitting in a Ford Explorer decked out like a police vehicle. He fled after the officer unsuccessfully sought his attention before moving on to check on Rest.
Reporting since the killings has scrutinized the police response; Boelter escaped from the Hortman house despite a heavy police presence. The authorities required three hours to launch a helicopter as Boelter led them on the largest manhunt in state history. He was found near his home in Green Isle, Minnesota, 43 hours after the killings.
Investigators found a list of targets, comprising Democratic elected officials and abortion rights advocates, though right-wing influencers spread disinformation that he was acting at the direction of Democrats angered about a Hortman vote for a budget that took away public health insurance for undocumented immigrants.
Colleagues from both parties knew Hortman — who led House Democrats to the majority in 2018 and served as speaker until 2024 — as a witty and shrewd legislator who eschewed the spotlight and concerned herself with the health and wellbeing of both members and staff. She became a key governing partner to Gov. Tim Walz, who viewed her as a potential successor.
Along with the late Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, Hortman pushed through the most ambitious progressive agenda in recent history during the 2023-24 Democratic trifecta, during which lawmakers created a paid leave program; passed gun control measures; raised taxes for transportation and housing; fully legalized cannabis; provided universal free breakfast and lunch for public school children; created a massive, steeply graduated child tax credit; and crafted laws to protect workers, among dozens of other provisions.
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