Boelter is being charged in federal court with two counts of stalking; two counts of murder through use of a firearm; and two counts of firearms offenses.
MINNEAPOLIS — Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson and other federal law enforcement officials met Monday morning to announce additional charges against Vance Boelter, who’s accused of killing Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband.
Boelter is also accused of critically injuring State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, though both are expected to survive.
Thompson said Boelter is being charged with one count of stalking Rep. Hortman; one count of stalking Sen. Hoffman; two counts of murder through use of a firearm — punishable up to death — and two counts of firearm offenses for the shootings of the Hoffmans.
Boelter appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Paul Monday afternoon. KARE 11’s Lou Raguse was in the courtroom and says that Boelter requested a public defender. He will remain in custody until his next court appearance, which is currently scheduled for June 27 at 11 a.m. Raguse says that could change if Boelter is indicted by a grand jury on more serious charges before that date.
Thompson said it was too early to say if the Justice Department would seek the death penalty, but noted it was among the options available to the government based on the charges. The counts charged in the criminal complaint could be amended by prosecutors as they pursue a grand jury indictment as a prerequisite for bringing the case to trial.
Detailing the events of the night of the killings, Thompson revealed that Boelter had visited two other lawmakers’ homes, but fortunately, they were unharmed. He did not reveal their identities, but noted they lived in the area near where the other crimes took place.
KARE 11 has since confirmed Boelter went to the homes of Rep. Kristin Bahner and Sen. Anne Rest in Maple Grove and New Hope, respectively. It’s also been confirmed that both lawmakers were on Boelter’s list of names found by police at Boelter’s part-time residence in north Minneapolis.
“Boelter planned his attack carefully. He researched his victims and their families. He used the Internet and other tools to find their addresses and names, the names of the family members. He conducted surveillance of their homes,” Thompson said.
“He also prepared in other ways. He concealed himself as a police officer, outfitting his black SUV with police lights and a police license plate, wearing a black tactical vest and body armor, carrying a police flashlight and a handgun.”
“Of course, he wore that hyper-realistic silicone mask, as seen on the surveillance videos. The video of his arrival and shooting of Senator Hoffman is truly chilling. Again, it’s no exaggeration to say this is the stuff of nightmares.”
Thompson shared that after reportedly shooting the Hoffmans, Boelter went to Rep. Bahner’s home in Maple Grove, but she was not home. He then allegedly drove to the residence of Sen. Rest in New Hope. Fortunately, after hearing about the shooting in Champlin Park, New Hope police decided to do a welfare check on the senator’s home.
Thompson went on to say that when the responding officer arrived, she spotted a vehicle that appeared to be a police cruiser down the street — with Boelter allegedly inside. Thompson said the officer pulled up next to him, thinking it was a fellow officer, but was instead met by Boelter, who reportedly stared straight ahead and did not acknowledge her.
According to Thompson, the officer then continued to the senator’s home before Boelter drove away.
According to the criminal complaint filed in federal court, law enforcement were able to track cell phone activity between Boelter and his wife in the hours after the shooting, in which Boelter sent an initial message to a family group text just after 6 a.m., saying, “Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody.”
Authorities alleged Boelter sent another text shortly after, just to his wife, saying, “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.”
The complaint said at the time officers made contact with Boelter’s wife, she was in her vehicle with her children, their passports, $10,000 in cash and two guns.
Earlier Monday morning, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office initially filed second-degree murder and attempted murder charges against Boelter, but prosecutors intend to elevate those charges to first-degree, which would carry a mandatory sentence of life without parole. That will require Boelter being indicted by a Hennepin County grand jury.
“I do want people to know that, given the scale of this investigation, the review of evidence will take time. I want to assure our community and all those who are grieving that we will seek justice and accountability for the victims of all these heinous crimes.”
Boelter is currently in custody and expected to make his first court appearance Monday afternoon.