Politics
JUST IN: Suspected Minnesota Assassin Captured
The Tim Walz appointee who led police on a two-day manhunt following the assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker and his wife was arrested late Sunday night during a dramatic foot chase through the woods.
Vance Luther Boelter, the 57-year-old whose links to the Democratic governor are still emerging, was apprehended during a sprawling manhunt that saw more than 100 officers pursue him through rural parts of the state after discovering an abandoned truck used during his getaway. The Green Isle resident is charged with the murder of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, after allegedly posing as a police officer at their front door.
The couple’s death came after Boelter nearly killed Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in a similar shooting, through both survived and remain hospitalized in critical condition as of Monday, according to officials who say he gained access to both lawmakers’ homes while dressed in a police uniform.
News of Boelter’s arrest, announced by Gov. Walz at a press conference, sent a wave of relief through Minnesota, where dozens of other lawmakers were allegedly targeted on lists left behind in vehicles purported to belong to Boelter.
“One man’s unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota,” Walz said.
Boelter is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder, according to a complaint unsealed in Hennepin County District Court and obtained by the Washington Post. Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said the FBI will be reviewing the case to determine if further federal charges are warranted.
Police say they have not found a “traditional manifesto” associated with Boelter laying out the motive for his crimes, and there appears to be no history of him making previous threats against politicians.
However, evidence left behind in the vehicles belonging to Boelter suggests that he was targeting pro-abortion lawmakers. In one, authorities found flyers touting nearby “No Kings” rallies set to occur on Saturday and a hit list of other Democratic politicians, including state Sen. Tina Smith and other high-profile proponents of abortion in Midwest states.
Boelter’s wife is cooperating with the investigation and has not been taken into custody, officials added. Roommates of Boelter, who rented space in a Minneapolis apartment, are also being interviewed about his behavior in recent weeks.
Those who know him best describe Boelter as a deeply religious man who was excited about launching his own private security firm in the near future. He rarely spoke about politics while spending part of the week in Minneapolis working on-call shifts at a funeral home, according to David Carlson, his roommate and lifelong friend.
Recently, Boelter quit his position at the funeral home so he could take a two-week trip to Africa, where he hoped to launch his venture, Carlson told the outlet. He had been “struggling a little bit” as of late, his friend said.
“He wasn’t as cheerful as he used to be,” Carlson said. “He had a job and everything. He was doing okay.”
Although Boelter had a website and vehicles modeled after local police cars — one of which was found at the scene of the shootings — Carlson said his friend struggled to get his fledgling security business off the ground.
“That was just Vance,” Carlson said. “He would just try to get things started. ‘Oh, I bought the two cars for security.’ But he had no clients, and he had no business. He had no employees. He wasn’t doing security for anybody. It wasn’t his job.”
