{"id":14820,"date":"2026-07-23T16:54:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T11:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=14820"},"modified":"2026-07-23T16:54:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T11:54:14","slug":"man-who-pleaded-guilty-to-killing-top-minnesota-democratic-lawmaker-and-her-husband-to-be-sentenced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=14820","title":{"rendered":"Man who pleaded guilty to killing top Minnesota Democratic lawmaker and her husband to be sentenced"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">MINNEAPOLIS &#8212; <\/span>The Minnesota man who pleaded guilty to <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/minnesota-lawmakers-shot-197b8073b66449297986f8276e6dcfc9\">killing a top Democratic lawmaker<\/a> and her husband is set to be sentenced in federal court Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Vance Boelter, 59, agreed to <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hortman-hoffman-boelter-minnesota-political-attack-c3e9d3e92eafbb9cfa4995935769898c\">plead guilty<\/a> in June, almost a year after the Minneapolis-area attacks when he stalked and killed House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and critically wounded state Sen. <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/minnesota-lawmakers-shot-senator-hospital-c929250912b761906d3350aaa8736745\">John Hoffman<\/a> and his wife Yvette.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Boelter pleaded guilty to six counts so federal prosecutors would not seek <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/minnesota-democrat-assasination-plea-af14b275e8e332ed46e14d534254638a\">the death penalty<\/a>; instead, he agreed to serve two consecutive life sentences, plus 40 years. Prosecutors and federal defenders said it was the maximum sentence he could be issued short of the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Boelter admitted in court that he spent months identifying and stalking his targets, before driving to their homes in the middle of the night, disguised as a police officer, with the intention of killing them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The killings sparked the <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/minnesota-shooting-lawmakers-timeline-boelter-08189f917904a9e5e79f5df948503a4f\">largest police search<\/a> in state history, causing panic, fear, and increased security and precautions. Elected officials faced escalating threats and political polarization that many worried would lead to more violence and attacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">A presentencing memorandum submitted to the federal court in late June was sealed as of early Thursday, along with objections to that report.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But prosecutors and Boelter&#8217;s defense team also submitted letters detailing their positions on the potential sentence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cVance Boelter committed an assault on democracy,\u201d prosecutors wrote in their filing. \u201cHe shattered the lives of his victims. He terrified Minnesota\u2019s public servants. He threatened police and pointed a gun at an officer. He viciously attacked the organs of Minnesota\u2019s representative government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Boelter went to Hortman&#8217;s home, wearing a tactical uniform and mask, about 3:30 a.m. on <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/minnesota-lawmakers-shot-vance-boelter-cf8f26332fe0e33eb892080c4f8afad7\">June 14, 2025.<\/a> He rang the doorbell while shouting he was a police officer doing a welfare check, according to court documents. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Mark Hortman answered the door. Boelter gave him a fake name and badge number before requesting he summon Melissa Hortman to the door as well. He shot Mark Hortman multiple times before pushing into the house and shooting the lawmaker as she fled upstairs. Melissa and Mark Hortman were killed. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Boelter had already visited the Hoffmans&#8217; home that night, shooting and critically injuring the senator and his wife, according to police and court documents. Court documents said Boelter also went to <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/minnesota-lawmakers-shot-vance-boelter-e9fc59e4307eb3461881f027ae626073\">two other lawmakers&#8217;<\/a> houses that night. In one instance, no one answered the door, and in the other, Boelter was spooked when a police officer approached him in his car believing he was another officer. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Boelter also faces state charges, including two counts of murder, four counts of attempted murder, impersonating a police officer and animal cruelty. The Hortman family\u2019s golden retriever was <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/minnesota-lawmakers-shot-dog-gilbert-5d35054b723ef0e739d3490a252352ee\">gravely injured<\/a> in the shootings and had to be euthanized. Hoffman and his family filed a personal injury lawsuit against Boelter in April. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In his letter on the proposed sentencing, Boelter&#8217;s attorney requested that he be sent to a federal prison in Florida, that he be allowed to work so he can pay restitution, and that he be allowed to participate in therapy and other in-person programs. The letter said Boelter had spent decades in food service and had experience in a handful of other fields.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cMr. Boelter understands that his impending sentence means he will spend the rest of his life in prison. But the skill set he maintains from his diverse employment history makes him a strong candidate for programming, employment, and other opportunities at the Bureau of Prisons,\u201d federal defender Manny Atwal wrote. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">___<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">Lauer reported from Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MINNEAPOLIS &#8212; The Minnesota man who pleaded guilty to killing a top Democratic lawmaker and her husband is set to be sentenced in federal court Thursday. Vance Boelter, 59, agreed to plead guilty in June, almost a year after the Minneapolis-area attacks when he stalked and killed House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/37acb136-bc44-4b50-9863-4da706a71000\/wirestory_b9b2823e5386f2e4fbc465d23095dab8_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}