Federal grand jury indicts man accused of killing former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman

Source: AP

By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Updated 3:13 PM CDT, July 15, 2025

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal grand jury indicted a man Tuesday on charges that he fatally shot a prominent Minnesota state representative and her husband and seriously wounded a state senator and his wife while he was allegedly disguised as a police officer.

The indictment handed up lists murder, stalking and firearms charges against Vance Boelter. The murder counts in the deaths of former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, could carry the federal death penalty.

“This political assassination, the likes of which have never occurred here in the state of Minnesota, has shook our state at a foundational level,” acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said.

He said a decision on whether to seek the death penalty “will not come for several months” and will be up to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Minnesota abolished its state death penalty in 1911, but President Donald Trump’s administration says it intends to be aggressive in seeking capital punishment for eligible federal crimes.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-lawmakers-shot-federal-indictment-fbce6398689c6bed37782fb4d918aad5