Man Who Killed Minnesota Democratic Rep. Sentenced to Life in Prison
The man who assassinated former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, has been sentenced to life in prison.In addition to killing the Hortmans (and their dog Gilbert), Vance Boelter also shot state Democratic Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.In court Thursday, Boelter didn’t once look at his victims or their families, remaining remarkably still as the judge read out the extraordinarily long prison sentence for the crimes he committed on June 14, 2025, reported The Guardian.Boelter pleaded guilty in June to the double homicide, recounting to the court how the previous year, he had spent months stalking his targets. He then disguised himself as a police officer in a tactical vest and hyperrealistic silicon mask, and killed the Hortmans in their home in the middle of the night.He was found guilty on six counts related to the killing of the Hortmans, as well as for the shooting of the Hoffmans.Boelter was committed to two consecutive life sentences, with an additional 40 years in prison tacked on. He confessed to the crimes to avoid the death penalty, though the decision was ill received by Mark Hortman’s family, who voiced their anger that Boelter would not face capital punishment.“It will not offer me peace of mind that he will have room and board provided for the rest of his life, paid for by my tax dollars,” said Mark Hortman’s sister, Lisa Hortman Bean.The shootings ripped the Hortmans away from their two children, Sophie and Colin, and tortured the Hoffmans’ daughter Hope, who witnessed her parents bleed out as she attempted to call for help.Hoffman and his wife shared with the court their own experiences with Boelter, emphasizing the lasting emotional, mental, and physical damage that the politically motivated assassination attempt had on their lives.“The defendant looked me in the eyes and pulled the trigger. The defendant looked at my wife and chose to do the same,” Hoffman told the court Thursday. “My wife and I now live with injuries. We live with our bodies remembering the gunfire.”The couple said they have been haunted by the memory of the attack, even within the minutiae of their day-to-day lives: The doors to their home have been replaced by solid steel, they no longer receive mail at the house, and everyday tasks have been altered to accommodate their lingering injuries.Yvette Hoffman said that the trauma was so great it has prevented her from returning to work entirely.“I fought him, your Honor, with everything I had. And I finally got him out of our home. I will never forget looking down and watching my blood slowly stream down that white washing machine as I felt myself sinking to the floor,” she said, choking back her emotion.Shortly after the crimes were committed, former acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joseph Thompson likened Boelter’s activity to “the stuff of nightmares.”