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Vance Boelter, 59, will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was sentenced Thursday in the killings of a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker and her husband last year.
Boelter was given two consecutive life sentences, plus an additional 40 years, after he pleaded guilty to stalking and killing Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband in their home.
Boelter was also charged with shooting Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette — both of whom survived.
The shootings
As Straight Arrow previously reported, Boelter posed as a law enforcement agent and drove an SUV that looked “exactly like an SUV squad car,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said. The vehicle was equipped with emergency lights, and Boelter wore a vest and carried a badge and a Taser.
Officials also found a manifesto in the vehicle that identified “many lawmakers and other officials,” Bruley said.
At the time, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the attacks “politically motivated,” saying, “This was an act of targeted political violence.”
A brief manhunt
A manhunt ensued following the shootings, and Boelter was arrested less than 48 hours later.
A month after the incident, he was federally indicted on six counts related to the incident, but prosecutors agreed not to seek the death sentence when Boelter pleaded guilty.
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