The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota has brought six criminal charges against Vance Luther Boelter, the man who was the focus of the largest manhunt in Minnesota history following the assassination of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, June 14, Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed in their home by an assassin. Hortman was the leader of the DFL Caucus in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Just before that attack, Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, and his wife, Yvette, were shot multiple times in their Champlin home. Both Hoffman and his wife received surgery and are expected to recover.
After those shootings, a nationwide manhunt ensued to find the perpetrator. On Sunday evening, authorities arrested Boelter in Green Isle, Minn. Boelter has since been charged in federal and state court. He could face the death penalty.
According to federal authorities, Boelter sent text messages to family members while evading law enforcement during the roughly 43-hour manhunt. Those messages were included in the criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota.
The first text was revealed when law enforcement used cellphone data to locate Boelter’s wife. Upon finding the suspect’s wife, authorities searched Mrs. Boelter’s cellphone records with her consent.
In those records, law enforcement reportedly discovered a text message that Boelter sent to his wife and other family members which said “Dad went to war last night…I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody.”
Law enforcement allegedly found another text Boelter sent to his wife which said “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation…there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around.”
During the pursuit of Boelter, officials also discovered a vehicle that Boelter reportedly bought soon after the shootings took place. That vehicle was found abandoned on Highway 25 between Green Isle and Belle Plaine.
Law enforcement recovered a handwritten letter from the vehicle which was addressed to the FBI. According to authorities, the author of the letter reportedly claimed to be “Dr. Vance Luther Boelter” and described themselves as “the shooter at large in Minnesota involved in the 2 shootings the morning of Saturday June 15th.”
Boelter is currently in federal custody and has an upcoming court appearance on June 27.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
