Green Isle, Minnesota – June 15: Nearby law enforcement phases of Green Isle, Minnesota, June 15th, 2025. Law enforcement is looking for suspects in the murder of DFL state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, who were shot at her home yesterday. DFL state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot and hospitalized in another incident. Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz said at a press conference that the shooting “seems to be a politically motivated assassination.” (Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – Law enforcement officials arrested Vance Bolter, accused of assassinating Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband at their Brooklyn Park home as part of a larger plot to kill Democratic elected officials and other abortion rights advocates.

Belter is also accused of shooting and killing Democratic State Sen. Farmer Laborg and his wife Yvette at Shamplin’s home. Both Hoffmans survived the shooting, but were subjected to surgery due to injuries and remained hospitalized.

The arrest comes after a 43-hour manhunt, according to Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Broley. Law enforcement officials were searching for Boerter all day after finding Boerter’s abandoned vehicle near Green Isle, where Boerter owns the home.

At the time of his arrest, Bolter was armed, but eventually surrendered. Lt. Colonel Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol said the officers used no force.

At the state’s new emergency business center in Blaine, paid by the law passed by the DFL-controlled house in Hortman in 2020, Gov. Tim Waltz thanked law enforcement and denounced rhetoric of political violence and hatred.

“This is not the norm, it’s not a way to deal with political differences,” Walz said. “Now is the time to recommend it to our country’s core values. Each of us can do it. Instead of discussing it, talk to our neighbors, discuss the issue, shake hands, find a common foundation.”

Bolter is a Christian who voted for President Donald Trump and opposed abortion and LGBTQ rights. A list of potential targets, including Hoffman and Hortman, included abortion providers and other democratically elected officials in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The attacks that shocked Minnesotan and the nation Rising political violence Since the emergence of President Donald Trump, Repeated threats of Violence against his political enemy and praised his supporters For example, on January 6, 2021, they attacked officers while storming the Capitol. He later forgives everything. He survived two assassination attempts in 2024.

Authorities say Bolter attacked Hoffman at Champlin’s home around 2am on Saturday. The unsealed criminal charges show Hoffman’s daughter calling police to report the shooting of her parents. Associated Press Report.

At about 3:30 a.m., Brooklyn Park police headed to the Holtymans home to actively check after the attack on the Holtymans, said Drew Evans on Saturday morning morning with the Minnesota Department of Criminal Arrest.

When they arrived, officers saw the attacker, wearing fake law enforcement uniforms, shot Mark Hortman through the open front door. Outside the front, emergency vehicle lights flashed from a Ford Explorer equipped to look like a policeman’s vehicle. As officers stood up to the shooter, a firefight ensued, and the killer abandoned the vehicle and fled.

Inside, Hortman and her husband Mark were dead from a gunshot wound.

In the SUV, police found documents with a list of lawmakers and other officials. Hortman and Hoffman were on the list.

Evans said Sunday that the document is not “a traditional manifesto, a paper on all kinds of ideology and writings.” Instead, it contains a list of names and “other thoughts”.

On Saturday afternoon, police raided a home in North Minneapolis, where Bolter lived part-time. in Interview with Star Tribune And David Carlson, a friend of Bolter’s roommate and childhood friend, shared a text message at 6:03am when Boerter said “I’ll go for a while” and “I might die soon.”

Federal and state warrants were issued for Boelter’s arrest, and the FBI had offered a $50,000 award for information that led to Boelter’s capture.

On Sunday morning, law enforcement officials were taken into custody by Boerter’s wife while driving around Milllux County with other family members and questioned. Evans said none of Boerter’s family was in custody on Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon, law enforcement officials found a vehicle linked to a Vaulter in Sibley County, within miles of their address at their Green Isle home. From there, dozens of law enforcement teams robbed fans in search of Boerter.

Evans said Belter was found in the area and officers gathered around him. He refused to provide details of the tactics used by law enforcement to capture Bolters.

Law enforcement officials continue to investigate Bolter’s motivations, urging the public not to jump to conclusions, Evans said.

“We often want simple answers to complex problems. This is a complicated situation. Once we complete the full picture of our investigation, these answers will come,” he said.

Vance Belter, 57, was captured by law enforcement in Sibley County on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

A fragment of Boelter’s life is available online, and interviews with people who know him shed light on his religious and political beliefs.

Boelter’s LinkedIn page shows that he will become the general manager of seven after spending years in food production. Recently he worked at a funeral home. New York Times It has been reported.

According to Carlson, Bolter was facing financial stress after quitting his job to embark on a business venture in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Star Tribune It has been reported.

The private security company website lists Boerter as “the director of security patrols” and his wife as CEO. He bought some cars and uniforms, but “it was never a real company,” Carlson said. strib.

Carlson said Bolter is a Christian who strongly opposes abortion. New York Times It has been reported.

A recording of Belter’s sermon delivered in Matadi, a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo He opposed abortion and LGBTQ people.

The Minnesota-based Lutheran pastor, journalist, author of Christianity, right-wing politics and masculinity, Pastor Angela Denker suggests that Belter’s report on religious life is not rooted in the cause of his beliefs.

“What this type of theology is saying is that if you commit violence no matter what you move, you’ll be rewarded,” Denker said.

The gunman shot John Hoffman nine times, and Yvette Hoffman eight times. Statement from Yvette.

Hoffmans nephew Matt Olig wrote on Facebook that Yvette used her body to protect her daughter. “I’ve now endured a lot of surgeries and am getting closer every hour to get out of the woods,” Yvette Hoffman said in a statement.

Boltter was being questioned by law enforcement when leaders spoke to the press on Sunday night, but officials refused to say where he was detained and which agencies questioned him.

On Sunday stairs at the State Capitol, mourners created an improvised memorial for Hortman, known as one of the most consequential progressive leaders in recent state history.

(Minnesota Reformer) It is a nonprofit news network that is part of the state newsroom and supports a coalition of grants and donors as a public charity of 501C(3). Minnesota reformers maintain their editors’ independence. Please contact editor J. Patrick Coolican with any questions. info@minnesotareformer.com. )