The MAGA assassin suspected of targeting Democratic politicians in a shooting spree over the weekend was arrested after an intense manhunt that ended with him crawling to cops.
Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was taken into custody near his Green Isle farm in Minnesota’s Sibley County, local authorities announced in a press conference. According to a criminal complaint unsealed Sunday night, Boelter is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, one of multiple law enforcement agencies involved in the manhunt, released the first photos of Boelter’s arrest in a Facebook post.
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Boelter was apprehended under a state criminal warrant issued over the fatal shooting of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband, Mark, 58, on Saturday morning. Sen. John Hoffman, 60, and his wife, Yvette, were also shot and injured in their Champlin residence about five miles away.
Brooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley said Boelter was arrested within 43 hours of the incident in what he described as “the largest manhunt in the state’s history,” which involved 20 SWAT teams spread out over a large area.
Superintendent Drew Evans from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said authorities were tipped off about Boelter’s location, prompting law enforcement to descend on a part of a field where the suspect was believed to be hiding.
Boelter “crawled to law enforcement teams and was placed under arrest,” Minnesota State Patrol’s Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger said.
Evans said the suspect was armed but declined to specify the weapon. Boelter was apprehended without the use of force and was being interviewed at an undisclosed law enforcement facility as of Sunday night.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is studying whether additional charges against Boelter will be brought at the federal level, Evans said.
The superintendent added that they were confident Boelter acted alone and had not uncovered proof that he was part of a broader network, though they will also explore that possibility.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the Hoffman couple was in recovery after the senator came out of surgery on Sunday. Walz previously called the shooting a “politically motivated assassination” after authorities found that Boelter had a list of other potential Democratic targets, including the governor himself and House Rep. Ilhan Omar.
“A moment in this country where we watch violence erupt. This cannot be the norm,” Walz said Sunday. “It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences. Now is the time for us to recommit to the core values of this country.”
Boelter is a father of five who has worked for decades in the food industry. He had served on a state economic board with Hoffman, though it’s unclear if they knew each other. Boelter was appointed to the panel twice: once in 2016 by former Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and later by Walz.
Boelter was registered as a Republican when he lived in Oklahoma in the early 2000s, according to public records. Minnesota does not require voters to declare their political affiliation when registering. State reports cited by the Times list Boelter’s affiliation as “none or other” in 2016 and “no party preference” in 2020.
Boelter’s roommate and longtime best friend, David Carlson, earlier told NBC affiliate KARE 11 that the suspect voted for Trump and was a strong supporter of the president.
Carlson broke down in tears as he read his last text message from Boelter, sent hours before the shootings occurred on Saturday morning.
“I just want to let you know that I love you guys both,” Boelter wrote, according to Carlson. “I don’t want to say anything more and implicate you in any way, because you guys don’t know anything about this, but I love you guys, and I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused.”
