Minnesota officials describe the murder of “political” murder as questions remain on suspect’s policy
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Gov. Tim Walz condemned the assassination of the former speaker of the Minnesota Chamber, Melissa Hortman, and her husband as a political motivation, but questions remain on the political affiliation of the suspect.
The Democratic Governor of Minnesota immediately denounced what he said “seems to be a politically motivated assassination”, after the attacks on Saturday morning.
Vance Luther Boelter, 57, is Responsible for killing Hortman and her husband, Mark, and shooting the state of the senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in separate incidents early Saturday morning.
Minnesota legislators and through the United States have since joined Walz to condemn violent attacks. Politicians and authorities were clear that the attack on Saturday was politically motivated, but they were less clear about the suspect’s political preferences.
Governor Tim Walz speaks during a press conference held at Minnesota Emergency Management Center after the arrest of Vance Boelter. (Christopher Mark Juhn / Anadolu via Getty Images)
American lawyer Joseph H. Thompson said on Monday that the main motive of boelter was “getting out and murdering people” when the authorities announced on Monday the capture of the suspect after a two -day manhunt.
“Now they were all elected,” said Thompson. “They were all democrats. Beyond that, I think it’s just too speculative for anyone who examined these documents to know and say what motivated him in terms of ideology or specific problems.”
Boelter is now faced Federal accusations After officials arrested him in Sibley County on Sunday evening. He is accused of two harassment leaders, two murder leaders and two leaders of weapons. Boelter also faces accusations of second degree murder deposited in the county of Hennepin.
The former speaker of the Minnesota Chamber, Melissa Hortman, was fatally shot down on Saturday. (Glen Stubb via Getty)
“Political violence has no place in this country,” said Alvin Mr. Winston, FBI Minneapolis on Monday at a press conference.
Although Thompson said it was too early to identify a specific political motivation, he said: “It was a political assassination”.
“This is only the most recent example of violent political extremism in this country,” added Thompson, in the light of two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump last year, the attack on the former lecturer of the Nancy Pelosi Chamber at their home in San Francisco in 2022, and the shooting of the head of the majority of the Steve Steve, R-. 2017, to name a little.
The files reveal that Boelter signed up to vote as a republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota, where voters do not list the party.
Brooklyn Park’s police chief Mark Bruley speaks during a press conference held at Minnesota Emergency Management Center after the arrest of Vance Boelter. (Christopher Mark Juhn / Anadolu)
Boelter has already been appointed to Minnesota labor Development Council of two governors, According to Fox 9.
The suspect would have been appointed by Governor Mark Dayton, Democrat, in 2016, then renamed by Walz in 2019 as a representative of the private sector to the Council. He previously sat on the same board of directors as Hoffman before the expiration of his mandate in 2023.
Friends and former colleagues interviewed by The Associated Press Described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and attended Trump rallies.
Paul Shroeder, who has known Boelter for years, told AP: “He has reasonable politically but never fanatic, from what I saw, just strong beliefs” and added: “It seemed to be simply that he was a conservative republican who naturally followed Trump.”
A search for news from Fox found no results for individual contributions to the political committees recorded by the federal government.
According to Boelter’s LinkedIn page, he has an alleged security experience, especially as CEO of Red Lion Group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is also listed as director of Praetorian Guard Security Services, a security company that his wife has filed to create, according to the company’s website.
Several AK-47 style firearms were recovered from the Boelter vehicle during the investigation, as well as a stack of “No Kings” leaflets, reflecting Protests from the anti-Trump administration It broke out across the country this weekend.
Walz had planned to speak during a “No Kings” rally in St. Paul on Saturday before the assassination.
Federal prosecutors have published images which, according to them, came from the Minnesota legislator, the suspect’s notebooks of the suspect Vance Boelter in a criminal complaint on June 16, 2025. (Ministry of Justice)
The authorities also found a manifesto that listed the names and addresses of other officials. About 70 names were found in the manifesto, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Officials said the list also included the names of Politicians pro-avoortdefenders of abortion rights and information on health establishments.
“There were supporters of the rights of abortion, I believe, on the list. But again, there were dozens and dozens of names, you know, hundreds of pages of documents that have been recovered with his writings on them,” said Thompson.
Boelter roommate said to the New York Post that he had conservative political opinions but rarely spoke of politics and did not seem openly political.
“He was a supporter of Trump. He voted for Trump. He loved Trump. I like Trump,” said his lifelong friend, David Carlson. “He didn’t like abortion.”
Carlson said The New York Times This boelter had experienced financial and mental health challenges, and that Bolter “has just given up life for any reason”.
According to The Wall Street JournalCarlson woke up on a Boelter text on Saturday that he “was going to have left for a while” and “can be dead shortly”.
“I thought he was going to do self -harm,” said Carlson. “I didn’t think he was going to do something like that.”
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Walz continued to denounce violence at a press conference on Monday.
“A moment in this country where we have looked at violence bursting. It cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way we face our political differences.”
And Walz added in a press release that we “cannot become numb to this violence,” adding that we are a “deeply divided nation”.
The Walz office and the American lawyer’s office for the Minnesota district did not immediately respond to a digital investigation by Fox News.
Stephen Sorace of Fox News Digital, Michael Dorgan, Julia Bonavita, Audrey Conklin, Peter d’Abrosca and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
