U.S. prosecutors said on Wednesday that they will not pursue the death penalty in a plea deal with a man accused of assassinating the leading Democrat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, her husband, and attempting to murder a state senator and his wife.
The defendant, Vance Boulter, is set to have a change of plea hearing on Thursday morning in federal court in Minneapolis.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley M. Endicott and Matthew D. Forbes, the Attorney General has permitted the government to forego the death penalty against Boulter, provided it aligns with the proposed plea agreement mentioned in a letter to the court.
Boulter’s lawyer has not yet responded to requests for comment, and the specifics of the plea deal remain unclear.
In a tragic incident on June 14, 2025, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, as well as state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot by a man impersonating a police officer. The couple’s golden retriever was also seriously injured in the attack and later had to be euthanized.
Boulter, 58, was apprehended the next day near his rural Green Isle home, following what prosecutors labeled the largest manhunt in Minnesota history. He faces several charges, including federal and state murder and attempted murder. His state case is currently paused while federal charges are addressed.
Minnesota abolished the death penalty in 1911, and there has yet to be a federal death penalty case. Although the Trump administration sought to expand the death penalty, some have raised doubts about whether Boulter’s situation would meet federal criteria for such a punishment.
Prosecutors believe that the attack was politically motivated. When the federal indictment was announced in July, they shared a handwritten letter directed to FBI Director Kash Patel, in which Boulter reportedly confessed to the shootings. However, the letter does not clarify his reasons for targeting the Hortman and Hoffman families.
Boulter, in correspondence with the media, mentioned obscure “studies” he claimed to be conducting, at times hinting they were related to COVID-19 vaccines.
Friends described Boulter as an evangelical Christian with conservative political beliefs, who occasionally preached and worked as a missionary but had difficulty finding stable employment.
During a session of the Minnesota Legislature in February, Senator Hoffman was greeted warmly as he entered the Senate chamber. In an April lawsuit against Boulter, he stated that he will likely never fully regain the use of his left arm and hand, and he has suffered lasting damage to his digestive and urinary systems.
Yvette Hoffman has also been left with permanent disabilities, and their adult daughter, Hope, was on the scene when the attack occurred. Although she was not shot, she has experienced significant psychological trauma, as indicated in the lawsuit.
