Vance Boelter's shocking cache of weapons, discarded rubber mask seen in new photos of Minnesota assassination scene
Suspected political assassin Vance Boelter's stunning cache of guns and the rubber mask he allegedly used to allegedly carry out his twisted shootings were seen in new photos Monday.
Federal authorities released the images as they charged Boelter with stalking and murdering former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and shooting Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman as his wife early Saturday morning.
Photos show multiple weapons — including AK-47-style rifles — inside Boelter's SUV, as well as numerous backpacks in the vehicle.
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Another image shows the face mask, which Boelter allegedly used to disguise himself during his heartless attack, according to law enforcement.
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Associated Press
28 minutes ago
- Associated Press
After Minnesota shooting, some states are more tightly guarding officials' personal information
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawmakers in some states are moving to delete their home addresses from online directories and Wisconsin legislators are seeking added security for a session this week after one Minnesota legislator was killed and another wounded in their suburban Minneapolis homes last weekend in what Gov. Tim Walz described as a targeted political attack. Vance Boelter is in federal custody facing murder and stalking charges in the shooting death of former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Authorities say he also shot and wounded Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. Boelter, 57, also faces state murder charges. Authorities said Boelter had a list of dozens of state and federal elected officials in Minnesota and meticulous notes on the homes and people he targeted early Saturday. He also stopped by the homes of two other legislators that night, according to police. Authorities say he found their addresses in a variety of internet searches. The Minnesota Legislature's website lists the addresses of members' offices in the state capital of St. Paul, not their home addresses. On Saturday, the North Dakota Legislature's staff agency removed lawmakers' addresses from their biographical webpages as a result of the targeted attacks in Minnesota, Legislative Council Director John Bjornson said. Most North Dakota lawmakers opt to give a home, business or postal box address on their webpage, where the public also can find their email addresses and phone numbers. Removing addresses of elected officials is a difficult decision because they have to be approachable, open and transparent, said Burleigh County Sheriff Kelly Leben, whose county is home to North Dakota's capital city. 'I think it's a balancing act between being a public official and the safety of myself and my family,' the elected county sheriff said. All home addresses for New Mexico legislators were also removed from the Statehouse website as an immediate precaution, said Shawna Casebier, director of the Legislature's legal office. Personal information on the website already had been limited at the discretion of individual lawmakers in the aftermath of drive-by shootings at the homes of four Democratic state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque in 2022 and 2023. In Colorado, at least 31 elected officials have filed requests to remove their personal contact information from a public-facing state campaign finance database called TRACER, which was briefly taken down Saturday so those requests could be fulfilled. 'We did so out of an abundance of caution for the safety of elected officials in an unprecedented political climate,' Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a statement. The Colorado development was first reported by Axios. Lawmakers in Wisconsin requested additional security for when the state Assembly meets on Wednesday, said Luke Wolff, spokesperson for Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Wolff did not detail what was requested or what changes may be made. The Wisconsin Capitol is one of the most open in the country, with public access seven days a week, no metal detectors, screening checkpoints or security badges required to gain entry. There are galleries in both the Senate and Assembly where the public can view legislative debate. Even before the Minnesota shooting, states in recent years have stepped up efforts to shield the personal information of officials in response to high-profile attacks. Oregon One day before the Minnesota killings, Oregon lawmakers passed a bill that would prohibit the Oregon Secretary of State from making the residential addresses of those associated with a candidates' campaign committee viewable by the public on its electronic filing system. The campaign filings would still be viewable online, but home addresses would be redacted, unless the person asks the Secretary of State's office to publish it. A public records request would need to be filed to obtain such addresses. Louisiana Louisiana lawmakers passed a bill last week that adds statewide elected officials and legislators to the list of people who can ask that their personal information be removed from public records and the internet. Certain judges were already on the list. Officials can seek to have home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, date of birth, marital status, school or daycare of their child, their place of worship or employment location of their spouse removed. Under current law, if person does not comply with the removal request, they can be sued and face up to 90 days in prison or $1,000 fine for the misdemeanor. The measure still needs final approval from Gov. Jeff Landry, one of the Louisiana officials whose private information would be protected. Georgia Georgia legislators passed a law earlier this year to require that home addresses of candidates who file campaign finance reports, including themselves, be redacted from by the state Ethics Commission from public view. The action came after a number of Georgia officials were targeted by swatting incidents in December 2023. Lawmakers also passed a second law which removes the personal phone number, home address, and property or tax records of a judge or their spouse from public view. Records covered include voter registration and corporation records. Illinois The Illinois State Board of Elections stopped publishing the street addresses of candidates for political office on its website last year, spokesperson Matt Dietrich said. Lawmakers had raised concerns after protestors picketed the home of Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, the state librarian, over legislation he pushed through the General Assembly that would cut state funding to libraries that ban books. Candidates' addresses remain on elections board documents that are no longer published on the web but accessible via public records request. New Jersey In 2020, a gunman posing as a delivery driver shot and killed the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in New Jersey and injured her husband at their family home. The state legislature passed a law later that year by that exempted the home addresses of current or retired judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers from disclosure under public records laws. The measure, called Daniel's Law in honor of the judge's son, also allowed officials to ask websites to remove their home addresses. Maryland Maryland enacted a law in 2024 preventing individuals from publishing judges' personal information online after a circuit court judge was shot by a man hours after the judge ruled against him in a divorce case. Judges can submit requests to government entities and private websites to remove information like phone numbers, social security numbers, and personal emails. — Associated Press reporters Claire Rush in Portland, Ore., Jack Dura in Bismarck, N.D., John O'Connor in Springfield, Ill., Jeff Amy in Atlanta, Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, La., Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md. and Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, N.M. contributed to this report.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
In wake of Minnesota lawmaker shootings, experts say political violence has been on the rise in U.S.
Political violence has been on the rise in U.S., experts say in wake of Minnesota shootings Political violence has been on the rise in U.S., experts say in wake of Minnesota shootings Political violence has been on the rise in U.S., experts say in wake of Minnesota shootings Police said the shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses this past weekend appears to be politically motivated. The suspect in the shootings, Vance Boelter, 57, was charged Monday with two counts of second-degree murder in the shooting that killed Minnesota state Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and two counts of second-degree attempted murder in the shooting that killed Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman and his wife separately in an overnight rampage Friday into Saturday. Boelter is also facing six charges in federal court, including stalking and murder. He was taken into custody on Sunday night near his Sibley County, Minnesota, home following a manhunt that lasted over 36 hours. "It's a chilling attack on our democracy on our way of life," said Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joe Thompson. "It's only the most recent example of political extremism in this county and a trend that's been increasing in recent years." In the wake of the shootings, U.S. Capitol police said politically based threat investigations are up 400%. An Illinois lawmaker said she hopes the horrific tragedy will lead to increased safety measures for public officials and first responders. Shortly after police arrested Boelter in a field near his home in Minnesota, a search of his car turned up weapons, detailed plans for the attack, and the names of hundreds of Democratic lawmakers written in various locations. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was in Minnesota on Friday for an event. He said his name was not found in Boelter's list, but some Illinois politicians' names were. "They recovered devices and other papers that had 600 names, more than 600 names," Pritzker said. "There are Illinois folks, like Iowa and others, but very few — and again, no one, the FBI specifically said to me that these people are not targets." Investigators called the murder of Hortman and her husband a political assassination. "It's only the most recent example of political extremism in this county — and a trend that's been increasing in recent years," said acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson. There have been several high-profile political attacks in America in just the last five years the U.S. Capitol was attacked on Jan. 6, 2021. On Oct. 28, 2022, Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, was beaten by an intruder at the couple's San Francisco mansion. On July 13 of last year, President Trump — then campaigning for a new term — survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. On May 21 of this year, two Israeli Embassy workers were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., and on June 1, a peaceful march in support of Israeli hostages was firebombed in Boulder, Colorado. Dan Byman-Director warfare, irregular threats and Terrorism Project at the Center for Strategic International studies "There has been a significant increase in the number of Americans really seeing the other political side as an enemy," said Dan Byman, director of the Warfare, Irregular Threats and Terrorism Project at the Center for Strategic International studies. "Words like 'treason' show up. Calls supporting violence have increased. Polling indicates that significant numbers of Americans believe violence is justified if their particular cause is not fulfilled." Such inflammatory language can easily lead to violence, Byman explained. "Individual followers often taking it in their own direction, where they'll grab a little from one ideologue, a bit more from another ideologue, and then throw in their own pet grievances," he said, "and as a result, you have lots of angry individuals." Illinois state Rep. Nicole La Ha (R-Lemont) emphasized the severity of the threat. "I think it's really important that we, as elected officials, understand that our words carry a lot of weight," she said. "It definitely wasn't something on my mind that I need to be looking over my back." La Ha has previously introduced legislation modeled after the Judicial Privacy Act to better protect the private information of politicians and first responders. "Which includes our home addresses, our home phone numbers — and it allows us to ask government bodies to protect those things and to keep them private," La Ha said. "You know, it's unfortunate that sometimes we don't act until it's too late." Pritzker did not reveal the names of the politicians who were listed on the evidence found in Boelter's home and car. But he made it clear that it was not a hit list. If convicted, Boelter could receive the death penalty.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
GOP rep calls for ‘around-the-clock' security for congressional lawmakers using public funds after Minnesota shootings
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) expressed deep concern Monday over 'growing threats' to congressional lawmakers in a letter asking for clarification over whether members can use their taxpayer-funded allowances to pay for personal security. Burchett's letter to the top Republican and Democrat on the House Committee on Administration – the panel which oversees the use of Members' Representational Allowances (MRAs) – comes days after a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were gunned down by an assassin targeting politicians. 'We are deeply concerned about growing threats to the safety of elected officials and request the Committee on House Administration to clarify that Members' Representational Allowances (MRAs) may be used for around-the-clock security services,' Burchett wrote in his letter, obtained by The Post. 3 Burchett asked whether taxpayer-provided funds can be used to pay for 24/7 security for congressional reps. AP The average MRA provided to House lawmakers last year was about $1.9 million per representative – money provided to support 'official conduct and representational duties.' The Tennessee Republican notes that under congressional rules, it appears lawmakers are only allowed to use MRA money on security expenses 'when those services are provided at official, member-hosted district events, during the performance of official duties, or at district offices during business hours.' Burchett called the current interpretation of the rules for MRAs 'inadequate' in light of the Saturday shootings targeting former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and state Sen. John Hoffman, along with their spouses, and the 2017 assassination attempt against Senate Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) at a Congressional Baseball practice. 'Had these lawmakers served in Congress, they would not have been allowed to use MRA funds for personal protection, despite being targeted,' Burchett said of the shooting that killed Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the separate assassination attempt against Hoffman, which left him and his wife badly wounded. 3 Burchett noted that the slain Minnesota state lawmaker could not have used MRA money, had she been in Congress, to secure her home. Getty Images 'The reality is, Members of Congress are publicly identifiable at all times,' Burchett continued. 'Our addresses are posted online and the threats are constant.' 'While we are grateful for the efforts of local law enforcement, the unique risks associated with serving in Congress require security beyond what is currently available.' The congressman called on the House panel to take 'all necessary steps to expand the permissible use of Members' Representational Allowances to include personal security, excluding campaign-related activity.' 3 The killing of Melissa Hortman and the serious wounding of another Minnesota state lawmaker sent shockwaves through Congress. Steven Garcia 'Protecting elected officials from political violence is critical for effective representation and a functioning government,' Burchett argued. The 'manifesto' of suspected Minnesota political assassin Vance Boelter contained the names of as many as 70 people — largely lawmakers and abortion advocates — he may have sought to target, according to authorities. The chilling list reportedly included Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.). Boelter, 57, was captured in a rural area outside Minneapolis Sunday night.
