Vance Boelter plans to plead not guilty in shootings of Minnesota lawmakers

Alleged political assassin Vance Boelter is expected to plead not guilty at a future court appearance following a grand jury indictment accusing him of stalking and shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their families last month, according to his attorney.

Manny Atwal, Boelter’s federal defender, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that the defense anticipates pleading not guilty at an arraignment hearing scheduled Sept. 12 at the Minneapolis federal courthouse. The indictment marked an important step that advances Boelter’s federal case. The U.S. District Court will now order discovery from the federal government for Atwal to review and process.

Atwal did not respond as to whether they intend to pursue a mental health defense. A clear motive behind the attack, described by prosecutors as an act of “political extremism,” remains unclear. Boelter, during his prior court appearances, has alluded to a desire to reveal more about the crimes.

In his last brief hearing in a St. Paul courtroom, Boelter waived his right to the proceedings that day and said he’s looking forward to a trial where the “truth” and “facts” will emerge “about June 14” — the date of the shootings.

Boelter’s comments in court and his writings show signs that attorneys could pursue a mental health defense. That would require Boelter to undergo an evaluation to determine if he’s competent to stand trial or not, according to Rick Petry, an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. If Boelter was not found competent, the proceedings could pause or be steered to mental health court. If he’s found competent, attorneys could raise a mental health defense in which they argue their client was under mental distress at the time of the crime and didn’t understand what he was doing.

The defense strategy is a high bar to clear, Petry said.

“There are safeguards built into the process ... to see if what the person is claiming is actually valid or not,” Petry said.

A federal grand jury indicted Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, on six charges including stalking, murder and use of a firearm in the shootings that killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and injured state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their suburban homes. The Hoffmans’ daughter, Hope, was also shot at and evaded injury after being pushed away by her parents. Two of the charges carry the possibility of the death penalty. Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson on Tuesday said that decision lies down the road and would require the green light from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

An unsealed 47-page search warrant was shared by prosecutors Tuesday alongside the grand jury indictment. The filing shed some light on Boelter’s actions at the time of the shootings and after, including the full rambling letter Boelter wrote to FBI director Kash Patel in which he confessed to pulling the trigger. Prosecutors portrayed the letter as delusional and not rooted in any sense of reality.

Boelter wrote that he was approached by Gov. Tim Walz about a project to kill U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith in an aim for the governor to take over the open Senate seats. Boelter also claimed he was trained “off the books” by the U.S. military and had served in Eastern Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.

More writings by Boelter were seized from his SUV and Minneapolis residence, the warrant said. His notebooks contained “all manner of notations, scribbles, stray phone numbers or emails and lists, but few cohesively written thoughts.” The warrant observed Boelter believed he acted in a “twisted and misguided sense of doing good.”

“If you want to save the country you have to get your hands dirty,” he wrote.

The warrant also described camera footage from the Hortmans’ home that showed Boelter, wearing a police uniform and brown wig, knock on the door and announce he was conducting a welfare check following reports about shots fired. Mark Hortman answered the door and said he did not know anything about a shooting.

Mark Hortman then remarked that he couldn’t see Boelter, who was shining a flashlight in his face, and asked for his name and badge number.

“Nelson, 286,” Boelter replied, according to the warrant.

About that time, Brooklyn Park police arrived at the home to check on the Hortmans after word had spread about the gunfire at the Hoffmans’ home. Moments later, the warrant said, Boelter fired a volley of shots into the Hortmans’ house and made his way inside, killing the pair and fleeing out the back door. The warrant said security footage showed Boelter casing the Hortmans’ home hours before the shootings.

Boelter surrendered to law enforcement June 15 in a Green Isle, Minn., field roughly one mile from his residence following a 43-hour manhunt.