Who is Vance Boelter? Man accused of killing Minnesota lawmaker and her husband had a list of 70 targets
Vance Boelter
, 57, was arrested Sunday after a two-day manhunt for allegedly killing Minnesota House Speaker
Melissa Hortman
, a top Democratic state lawmaker, and her husband, Mark. Authorities say Boelter posed as a police officer before carrying out the Saturday morning attack, which Governor Tim Walz called a 'politically motivated assassination.' He is also accused of shooting and wounding another Democratic lawmaker, state Senator
John Hoffman
, and his wife, Yvette, at their home nearby.
Law enforcement tracked Boelter to Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis, where his vehicle and belongings were found abandoned on a remote road. He was taken into custody without incident.
A notebook recovered from the suspect reportedly contained a hit list of more than 70 names, including Democratic lawmakers, doctors, community leaders, and Planned Parenthood locations. Authorities also said Boelter wore a ballistic vest, gloves, and a mask during the attacks.
Earlier, police found an SUV resembling a police vehicle parked outside Hortman's home in Brooklyn Park. It had flashing lights and contained a list of potential political targets. Public records and online postings reviewed by Reuters show Boelter had links to evangelical ministries and claimed security experience in the Gaza Strip and Africa.
Boelter has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder, according to a Hennepin County criminal complaint. Three of the charges carry prison terms of up to 40 years.
Live Events
Authorities said Boelter fled on foot after an exchange of gunfire with police at the Hortman residence, prompting Minnesota's largest manhunt in recent memory. Police later discovered three AK-47 rifles, a 9mm handgun, and a detailed list of public officials with their addresses in his SUV.
Who Is Vance Boelter?
Boelter is a Minnesota resident with a checkered professional and personal history. A father of five, he spent much of his career in the food industry before switching to funeral services and missionary work in central Africa. Most recently, he worked with funeral homes in Minneapolis and took online courses in mortuary science.
He served on the Minnesota Governor's Workforce Development Board, appointed by Democratic governors in 2016 and again in 2020. Though he and Sen. Hoffman served on the board at the same time, officials say there's no evidence they had a direct relationship.
Boelter also claimed to be the CEO of a Congo-based nonprofit, Red Lion Group, and delivered sermons that expressed Christian fundamentalist and anti-LGBTQ views. He and his wife operated a private security company called Praetorian Guard Security Services.
Political Views and Personal Struggles
Although listed as unaffiliated in public records, Boelter's roommate said he voted for Donald Trump and held strong anti-abortion beliefs. Friends noted that he had been struggling with financial and mental health issues in recent years.
A text message Boelter sent Saturday morning hinted at suicidal intent: 'I might be dead shortly... I love you guys and I'm sorry for all the trouble this has caused.'
What's Next
With Boelter in custody, investigators are working to uncover more about his motivations and any links to political extremism. The attack has renewed concerns about the safety of public officials.
Senator Tina Smith said her name was among those listed in Boelter's notebook, alongside other lawmakers, medical professionals, and institutions. Authorities continue to assess the scope of the threat.
With NYT, Reuter's Inputs
Economic Times WhatsApp channel
)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Sh** show': 'No Kings Protest' crowd outshadows Trump's $45 million lavish military parade
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump held a hideously expensive military parade in Washington, D.C., on his birthday. Social media mocked Trump's military parade, marking the 250th anniversary of the US Army. The footage showed the American troops marching sloppily, without any coordination, in front of a tiny crowd as the president saluted every walking contingent. Even as social media users mocked Trump's military parade, the US President deemed his dollar military birthday parade a 'tremendous success' Sunday, despite it being dwarfed by the thousands protesting against his presidency on the same day. While speaking to reporters on his way to Canada for the G7 summit, Trump heaped praises on the parade. 'Last night was a tremendous success with a fantastic audience,' Trump told reporters. 'It was supposed to rain, they gave it a 100% chance of rain and it didn't rain at all. It was beautiful.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Linda Kozlowski, 67, Shows Off Her Perfect Figure In A New Photo Today's NYC Undo 'And so I asked, if they gave it a 100% chance, right? 100% it was going to rain like crazy—and it didn't rain at all—how do they predict 100 years out? And 50 years out or 200 years out?' he continued. 'They didn't do too well the weather people last night, but it was beautiful.' ALSO READ: Are you on Trump's list? President orders ICE to ramp up deportations in Democratic stronghold cities Live Events Was Trump's military parade a flop? Even though an exact number of attendees has yet to be released, crowd figures were considerably lower than the 250,000-plus total White House Communications Director Steven Cheung touted on X Saturday, according to MSNBC and the Associated Press. 'Just the eye of any individual who is here on the ground or looking at images or video knows that there were not 250,000 people,' reporter Vaughn Hillyard, who was at the scene, told the hosts of MSNBC's The Weekend on Sunday. Footage from the event also showed sparse crowds. The crowd at the Trump's military parade was comparatively smaller to the thousands who marched in the 'No Kings' demonstrations across the country on the same day, reports Daily Beast. Data journalist G. Elliot Morris estimated that 'roughly 4-6m people' joined the 2,000-plus 'No Kings' demonstrations, which protested against Trump's policies, potentially making it one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history. ALSO READ: Is coffee dangerous for Americans? These three US states asked not to drink caffeine Social media users were not impressed by the celebrations and questioned if the soldiers had willingly decided not to turn up for the event. "This was a sh*t show. Recruits in bootcamp can march in formation better than this," wrote one user, while another added: "Even NCC Cadets in India perform better parade marches than the superpower America." A third commented: "Can't believe how underwhelming all the footage of America's military parade is. 250 year anniversary for the world's biggest military and they get troops trotting along out of sync, isolated tanks rolling through to complete silence, small crowd, no cool displays of precision marching or cool tech, and lame country music to cap it off. Embarrassing." A different user wrote, 'HAHAHA! The crowd for Trump's birthday parade is TINY! They claimed 200,000 people would show up and it doesn't even look like 1,000 showed up. How embarrassing for MAGA! No Kings blew this out of the water!!!' ALSO READ: Pentagon pizza monitor predicted frantic activity ahead of Israel's attack on Iran. What's the truth? No Kings Protest in US Protests against President Donald Trump have taken place in towns and cities across the US in a coordinated event titled "No Kings". Lawmakers, union leaders and activists gave speeches in cities including New York, Philadelphia and Houston to crowds waving American flags and placards critical of Trump. Tens of thousands marched peacefully in Philadelphia, where organizers were holding their main event, police said. Philadelphia was chosen as the hub, because "there's an indelible link between Philadelphia and between the freedoms and the ideals that the country was founded upon," said Joel Payne, spokesperson for MoveOn, one of the dozens of groups behind the No Kings protests. Organisers of the 'No Kings' demonstrations said millions had marched in hundreds of events. Governors across the US had urged calm and vowed no tolerance for violence, while some mobilised the National Guard ahead of marchers gathering. The demonstrations come on the heels of the protests over the federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Israel attacks Iran's South Pars gas field which holds world's largest gas reserve - why does it matter?
On Saturday night, Israel struck several of Iran's key oil and gas sites, including South Pars, the world's largest gas field. This is the first time Israel has hit Iran's energy infrastructure, even though the two countries have been enemies for decades, as per reports. Iran's Ministry of Petroleum said Israel attacked a big fuel depot and an oil refinery in Tehran, causing fires. The South Pars gas field , which Iran shares with Qatar, was damaged by Israeli strikes, leading to a partial shutdown, as per the report by Reuters. The South Pars field produces about two-thirds of Iran's gas, which is used inside the country. According to a Reuters report, fire broke out at Phase 14 of the South Pars field, stopping production of 12 million cubic metres of gas per day. Israeli attacks also targeted another one of Iran's major oil storages, the Fajr-e- Jam Gas refinery, after a missile strike sparked a fire at the facility, Al Jazeera reported. Why these sites matter? From jet fuel for Iran's fleet to petrol and diesel for the capital Tehran, Shahran oil's 11 tanks holding 260 million litres of fuel are a major oil source for northern Tehran, located in Shahr-e Rey, and can refine 225,000 barrels of oil per day. It is crucial for fuel supply in Tehran, Iran's biggest city. The South Pars gas field contains around 1,260 trillion cubic feet of gas, which makes up almost 20% of the world's known gas reserves. Damage to Fajr-e Jam Gas Refinery may hurt Iran's power and fuel supply, especially in southern and central areas. Power cuts already cost Iran around $250 million per day, as mentioned in the report by Al Jazeera. Live Events The start This round of violence started on Friday, when Israel killed Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists in strikes. Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles and drones at cities in Israel. Iranian news agencies claimed that the Israeli assault claimed 80 lives, including 20 children, while injuring as many as 800. Israel also claimed to lose 10 lives, along with having 180 injured as a result of Iranian retaliation. Impact Oil prices jumped 9% on Friday after the first Israeli attacks, even though energy sites were not hit then. Prices are expected to rise even more now that South Pars and other energy facilities were hit, as per the analysts reported by Al Jazeera. The Strait of Hormuz is used for 20% of the world's oil, which Iran is considering closing. This would greatly affect global oil prices. The Strait of Hormuz separates Iran from Oman and UAE and is called the 'world's most important oil chokepoint' by the US Energy Information Administration, as per reports. Iran can't export its gas due to international sanctions, so it uses all of it locally. Meanwhile, Qatar, which shares the South Pars field, exports large amounts of gas through companies like Exxon and Shell to Europe and Asia, according to the report by Reuters. The situation is still tense and dangerous, and both countries are threatening more attacks. FAQs Q1. Why did Israel attack Iran's gas field? Israel attacked because Iran first hit Israeli cities. Q2. Why is the South Pars gas field important? It has a huge part of the world's gas and gives most of Iran's gas supply.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Raja Raghuvanshi Murder Weapon Found, Cops Say He Tried To Fight Back
The weapon used to murder Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, while he was on his honeymoon in Meghalaya, has been recovered and a police released a photo of it. Of the five people accused of conspiring to murder him and carrying out the act, Vishal Chauhan allegedly attacked Raja with the machete first. Sources told NDTV that the weapon was used to attack Raja repeatedly, even as the man tried to save himself. Police have also found during the probe that the accused had bought the machete from near Guwahati's railway station. Raja and Sonam Raghuvanshi were in Meghalaya for their honeymoon when they went missing on May 23. Raja's body was found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls on June 2 while a search continued for Sonam. She emerged in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, around 1,200 km away from the crime spot, on June 9 and surrendered before police. Later, Sonam, her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha, Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi were arrested for hatching the murder conspiracy. A video recently emerged showing Raja and Sonam trekking through the mountains of Meghalaya. On the day of the murder, the couple had checked out of the home stay and set out on a trek to Cherrapunji. A guide who had seen them last saw the couple and offered his services, but they refused. Around 2,000 steps into the around 3,000-steps route, the three accused joined them. Raja's family has demanded a narco-analysis test on prime accused Sonam's parents and said the family suspects the involvement of more people in the killing. It was initially suspected that Sonam and Raj hired the three other accused to kill Raja, but it later emerged that they were friends of his. Sonam's brother Govind attended the Hindu rituals held on the 13th day after a death, although Raja's family said he had not been invited. "I am here to seek forgiveness. If anyone suspects us, we are asking to be investigated. We stand with Raja Raghuvanshi's family," he told reporters. Govind had also taken part in Raja Raghuvanshi's post-death ritual in Ujjain on June 13.
