The man accused of assassinating one Minnesota lawmaker and critically wounding another allegedly wrote that Gov. Tim Walz instructed him to also kill Sen. Amy Klobuchar in a rambling, conspiracy-laden letter he addressed to the FBI.
Vance Boelter, 57, is facing multiple state and federal murder charges following what authorities have called a “targeted political” attack, which left Democratic House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, dead.
Boelter is also accused of gunning down Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, both of whom continue to recover.
In a letter authorities discovered in a Buick abandoned near Boelter’s home, he allegedly claimed the killings were part of a larger scheme orchestrated to boost the governor’s political career, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported, citing unnamed sources.
The plot also called for him to kill Klobuchar, clearing the way for Walz to run for Senate, Boelter wrote in the letter, which is said to be nearly two pages in length. It also included his confession for shooting Hoffman and Hortman, as well as both of their spouses.
Boelter was pretending to be a police officer when he knocked on the door of Hoffman’s home in Champlin in the early hours of Saturday, June 14, investigators said. When the senator opened the door, the gunman opened fire, striking Hoffman nine times. Police said Hoffman’s wife was also hit eight times in the flurry of gunfire.
Some 90 minutes later, Boelter pulled the same stunt at Hortman’s home in Brooklyn Park about 8 miles away. She and her husband were both pronounced dead at the scene.
The Hoffmans, meanwhile, were rushed to an area hospital, where they’ve since undergone surgery. Sen. Hoffman remains hospitalized in critical condition, while his wife was released to recover at home on Thursday.
Following the shooting at the Hoffmans, authorities were proactively checking on Hortman when they crossed paths with the gunman for the first time. They arrived on the scene around 3:35 a.m. and approached the suspect — sporting a black tactical vest and badge at the time — as he exited the residence. He “immediately” opened fire and then fled the scene, police said.
Boelter was arrested last Sunday night following nearly two days of what Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley called “the largest manhunt in state history.”
Police have said they’re still investigating a motive for the attacks. A “manifesto,” recovered from a phony police vehicle investigators believe Boelter used during the shootings, included an apparent hit list with dozens of names, including Hoffman and Hortman, Bruley said.
The others on the list, obtained by CNN, were largely Democratic politicians or abortion rights advocates.
