Man charged with killing Minnesota politician says he looks forward to ’truth’ coming out

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The man charged with killing former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband on June 14, and wounding a state senator and his wife, said Thursday that he’s looking forward to the facts coming out about what happened that day.

During a court appearance, Vance Boelter waived his right to full hearings on whether he should remain jailed without bail, and on probable cause, where the judge would determine whether the government has enough evidence to proceed with prosecuting the case. Thursday’s hearing lasted less than 10 minutes.

“Your honour, I’m looking forward to court, and looking forward to the facts about the 14th coming out,” Boelter told Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko. Boelter affirmed that he knowingly waived his rights to the full hearings he was entitled. “That gets us to court faster, where the truth can come out.”

A date for Boelter’s next court appearance has not been set. The acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Joe Thompson, told reporters afterward that the next step is for a grand jury to return an indictment, which is due by mid-July and could include additional charges. Boelter would then return to court for an arraignment, which is when he’d be expected to enter a plea.

Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, Minn., was wearing a standard two-piece yellow jail uniform with a yellow T-shirt underneath and orange slippers when federal marshals escorted him into court on Thursday. He appeared clean-shaven, except for a goatee.

That contrasted with the green padded suicide prevention suit that an unshaven Boelter wore when he was brought into court last Friday. That hearing was put on hold until Thursday at the request of his federal defender, Manny Atwal, who said her client had been unable to sleep while on suicide watch due to harsh jail conditions, making it difficult for them to communicate.

Boelter complained that he’s still being held in a cell where the lights are never out, “and I don’t know if it’s day or night.” But Micko said the conditions at the Sherburne County Jail are not up to him.

Asked to comment on Boelter’s remarks about wanting the truth to come out, Thompson told reporters, “I think that’s what everyone wants.”

Boelter faces separate cases in federal and state court on charges of murder and attempted murder, but the feds are using their power to go first.

“This isn’t just a murder case,” Thompson said. “This is a political assassination.”

Authorities say Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot to death in their home in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park in the early hours of June 14 by a man disguised as a police officer who was driving a fake squad car.

Boelter also allegedly shot and seriously wounded state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, earlier that morning at their home in nearby Champlin. The Hoffmans are recovering, but Hortman’s golden retriever, Gilbert, was seriously injured and had to be euthanized.

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Boelter surrendered near his home the night of June 15 after what authorities called the largest search in Minnesota history, a hunt of around 40 hours.

Neither Boelter nor his lawyer have publicly commented on the charges themselves, which could carry the federal death penalty. Friends have described Boelter as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views. But prosecutors have declined so far to speculate on a motive.

Thompson said a decision on the death penalty “will be made over time, ultimately by the attorney general, but in consultation with our office, based on lots of factors.”

Minnesota abolished its death penalty in 1911. But Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the Trump administration will be aggressive in seeking capital punishment.

Prosecutors allege Boelter also stopped at the homes of two other Democratic lawmakers. They also say he listed dozens of other Democrats as potential targets, including officials in other states.

Former president Joe Biden and former vice-president Kamala Harris joined the mourners at the Hortmans’ funeral last Saturday. Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’s running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket, eulogized Hortman as “the most consequential Speaker in Minnesota history.”

Hortman served as Speaker from 2019 until January. She yielded the post to a Republican in a power-sharing deal after the elections left the House tied.