The Minnesota man who pleaded guilty to assassinating a top Democratic lawmaker and attempting to murder another was sentenced to life in federal prison Thursday, 13 months after he disguised himself as a police officer and attacked the legislators at their homes.
Vance Luther Boelter, suspected in the shooting deaths of a Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker and her husband, is taken into custody in June 2025 at an unidentified location.
Vance Boelter, 59, was given consecutive life sentences plus 40 years by U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim in Minneapolis, local media reported. He pleaded guilty to six counts in June, including murder, stalking and gun-related charges, part of a plea deal that allowed him to avoid a potential death sentence.
The Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Boelter, wearing a silicone mask, donned a police uniform and drove an SUV with a license plate that read, "Police," as he carried out the late-night shootings on June 14, 2025.
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After ringing the doorbell and gaining entry, Boelter shot and killed Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, and her husband, Mark, in their home. Earlier, he shot and wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home a few miles away.
Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Ginny Klevorn and Kristin Bahner embrace Thursday as they leave the Diana E. Murphy United States Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, following the sentencing hearing for Vance Boelter, who pleaded guilty to the 2025 killings of Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shootings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
He also visited the homes of two other lawmakers that night, authorities said, but no one answered the door at one house and Boelter left the other home when a police officer, believing him to be a fellow officer, approached his car.
Investigators found a list of more than 45 other Minnesota officials in his car. Law enforcement captured Boelter two days later after the largest manhunt in state history.
Sophie Hortman, daughter of Melissa and Mark Hortman, speaks with others Thursday at the Diana E. Murphy United States Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, following the sentencing hearing for Vance Boelter, who pleaded guilty to the 2025 killings of Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and the shootings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
The shootings highlighted the spike in political violence that hit the U.S. in recent years.
During Thursday's sentencing, several victims and family members spoke emotionally about the toll Boelter's crimes took, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"I miss my mom, I miss my dad," the daughter of the Hortmans, Sophie Hortman, said through tears. "I miss believing in the goodness of humanity."
Harry and Linda Haluptzok, parents of Melissa Hortman, speak to the media at the Diana E. Murphy United States Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, following the sentencing hearing.
Mark Hortman's father, J. Carroll Hortman, criticized the government for agreeing to a plea deal because it denied the family a trial "they were deserved," the newspaper reported.
Boelter briefly apologized in court before he was sentenced.
"To every person I have caused loss, pain, heartache, confusion, sadness, shame, or loneliness, I am truly sorry," he said, according to the Star Tribune.
