The alleged suspect in the Minnesota shooting of two state officials, Vance Boelter, was arrested late night on June 15th. His arrest led to charges by the U.S. Justice Department on Monday. Boelter is charged with “stalking and murdering Minnesota House of Representative Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, in addition to stalking and shooting Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife.”
Here’s everything we know so far about Boelter.
Boelter’s Past
Vance Boelter was a public appointee of Minnesota in the role of Business and Industry Representative on December 14, 2019. His effective date was December 14, 2019, and expired January 2, 2023. Many have speculated that he was originally appointed in 2016 by Governor Mark Dayton to the Workforce Development Council, but the current listing on the Minnesota Secretary of State is “under maintenance.”
In archived records, Boelter is listed as “Dr. Vance Boelter,” a General Manager for 7-Eleven. His LinkedIn Profile suggests he was the General Manager from April 2016 to November 2021. His profile also states that he has a Doctorate in Leadership from Cardinal Stritch University. The University is closed as of 2023, and they have not publicly verified whether or not he has received a Doctorate from there.
In 2023, Boelter stated that he was in the “Democratic Republic of Congo working on several projects,” with the Red Lion Group, for which he claimed he was the CEO. There is little evidence other than what he and Red Lion Group have reported about his work in Congo. We can find some videos of sermons in Congo on YouTube, but there is not much evidence of what he was doing in the DRC outside of a few clips.
Boelter’s Victims and Motives
Representative Melissa Hortman (left) and her husband were murdered on June 14. Senator John Hoffman (right) was shot, but not killed
On the morning of June 14, Boelter shot and killed Melissa Hortman and her husband. He is seen on an outdoor camera wearing a realistic, latex mask, impersonating a police officer’s uniform. Representative Hortman was a Democratic party member, and Governor Walz initially said that the killing was a “politically motivated assassination.”
Senator Hoffman, also a Democrat, was shot nine times, according to his wife Yvette, who was also shot eight times. Hoffman has been in surgery over the last two days, and his condition seems to be stable.
Many were confused by the shootings, as it was initially claimed to be political. Some claimed that Boelter was targeting Democratic members due to their abortion stances. Some claimed that he was participating in the “No Kings” protests, due to the state patrol stating that many flyers had been found inside his vehicle.
We still don’t know his true motivation, as he has yet to make a statement, or any official statement been released.
The FF Post will continue to follow this story and update as more is revealed.
