Minnesota lawmaker shooting suspect's wife says she was 'completely blindsided'
Vance Boelter's wife, Jenny, called the attack on two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses allegedly carried out by her husband "a betrayal."
The wife of the man accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses said she was "completely blindsided" by the attack allegedly carried out by her husband.
Vance Boelter, 57, is facing state and federal charges in connection with the killing of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shooting of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Officials have called the attack a targeted "political assassination."
"We are absolutely shocked, heartbroken and completely blindsided. This violence does not at all align with our beliefs as a family," Jenny Boelter said in a statement released by her attorneys. "It is a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenets of our Christian faith."
In the hours after the shootings, Vance Boelter sent multiple text messages to his wife and his family, according to a federal affidavit.
'Dad went to war last night … I dont wanna say more because I dont wanna implicate anybody," Vance Boelter said in a message to a group chat that included his wife and children, according to the affidavit .
The affidavit said Vance Boelter also sent his wife a separate message 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.'
According to the affidavit, law enforcement used cell phone data to locate Boelter's wife after the shooting. Jenny Boelter said law enforcement officials contacted her in the morning on June 14 and she met them voluntarily at a nearby gas station.
"We were not pulled over; we parked and waited until they arrived," she said in the statement. "When they did, we voluntarily agreed to meet with them, answer their questions, provide all items they requested, and cooperate with all searches."
When asked about Jenny Boelter's claims, FBI spokesperson Cindy Burnham told USA TODAY, "To preserve the integrity and capabilities of the investigation, I cannot share any details at this time."
Officials said Jenny Boelter agreed to a search of her phone and car. She was traveling with her four children to visit friends northwest of the metro area, a federal complaint said.
In the car, officers found a safe, all of the children's passports as well as Jenny Boelter's, about $10,000 in cash, a revolver pistol in the glove box and another semi-automatic pistol in a cooler, the FBI said in the complaint. She told police her husband was a doomsday "prepper" with "bailout" plan in the event of a catastrophe.
Contributing: Michael Loria and Christopher Cann
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CNN
27 minutes ago
- CNN
Wife of Minnesota suspect says she was ‘blindsided' by shootings of state politicians
The wife of suspect Vance Boelter spoke out for the first time since two Minnesota state politicians and their spouses were shot, saying she and her family are 'absolutely shocked, heartbroken and completely blindsided' by the violent incident that killed one couple and seriously injured the other. Boelter is accused of killing Melissa Hortman, a member of the Minnesota State House, and her husband, Mark, as well as injuring John Hoffman, a member of the Minnesota State Senate, and his wife in a separate shooting. He is facing state and federal charges including murder, firearms offenses and stalking, and could face the death penalty. He has not yet entered a plea. Authorities called the shooting a 'politically motivated assassination.' In a statement through the law firm representing her, Halberg Criminal Defense, Jenny Boelter offered her 'deepest sympathies' to the victims' families. 'This violence does not at all align with our beliefs as a family. It is a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenets of our Christian faith. We are appalled and horrified by what occurred and our hearts are incredibly heavy for the victims of this unfathomable tragedy,' the statement read. She added that the family has fully cooperated with authorities since the beginning of the investigation and thanked them for apprehending her husband before further harm was done. It's the first time the public has heard from Jenny Boelter since the June 14 attacks. The statement comes as more details emerge from court documents about the investigation into Boelter's actions that morning and the ensuing manhunt. His public defender, Manny K. Atwal, had no comment on the release of the documents. Boelter is scheduled to appear in federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota on Friday for a preliminary detention hearing. Jenny Boelter was initially 'not forthcoming with knowledge of her husband being involved in something serious,' according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by CNN affiliate KARE and reviewed by CNN. She later told law enforcement that she had received messages from her husband in the early morning hours instructing her to take the kids to her parents' home because people with guns may come to their house, the documents say. She told authorities that Vance Boelter had recently bought masks for his security business and still owned the police-like vehicle the suspect used in his alleged attacks. During their investigation, special agents with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension applied for warrants to track Boelter's WhatsApp account and review his Amazon purchases, according to the documents. Boelter was a 'prepper,' and had given his wife a 'bailout plan' in case of 'exigent circumstances,' an FBI agent investigating the case said in another recently unsealed affidavit. The affidavit does not imply that Boelter's wife knew about his alleged plans to attack the lawmakers, and she has not been charged with any crime. After the shootings, investigators found two handguns, passports for Jenny Boelter and her children and about $10,000 in cash in the vehicle she was in when she met with law enforcement, according to the affidavit. During an interview, Boelter's wife said that she received a group text message from Boelter in a thread with their children. 'Dad went to war last night … I don't wanna say more because I don't wanna implicate anybody,' one text from Boelter to members of his family read, according to a federal complaint unsealed last week. It took less than two days for authorities to identify and locate Boelter. 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He also had at least 12 vehicles registered to him at his home in Sibley County. Officials were tracking a cellphone they believed belonged to the suspect when they received a call from an unexpected location — a local home improvement store. Boelter turned off his cellphone right after the killings, but turned it on the next day, according to the documents. As law enforcement officers closed in on the cellphone's location, they received a tip that the phone was at a Home Depot in a Minneapolis suburb, where employees were trying to find its owner. Authorities responded and collected the iPhone 13 as evidence. Boelter was found at 7:30 p.m. June 15 after a Sibley County resident spotted him on a trail camera. Authorities were able to spot him using infrared technology on a drone. Once found, Boelter 'crawled' to law enforcement and was taken into custody without incident. He remains in custody at the Sherburne County Jail. CNN's Hanna Park and Jennifer Feldman contributed to this story
USA Today
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