Vance Boelter is the guy who shot two members of the Minnesota House, John Hoffman and Melissa Hortman, and their spouses. Hortman and her husband were both killed and Hoffman remains in the hospital. His wife was just released from the hospital Thursday night.
From almost the moment this happened there has been a guessing game about Boelter’s motives. We learned early on that he had been appointed to two different boards by Gov. Tim Walz and that after a shootout police had possession of his car. In the car was a list of some 70 targets, a manifesto and a stack of “No Kings” flyers. The shootings happened around the same time as the “No Kings” protests taking place around the country.
The flyers combined with the appointments by Walz convinced many that Boelter’s politics were on the left. It was initially suspected Melissa Hortman could have been targeted because she had recently voted with Republicans on a bill as part of a compromise.
However, nearly all of the people on this hit list found in his car were Democrats, including Gov. Walz, Rep. Ilhan Omar and state AG Keith Ellison. And then a few days ago the AP published a story describing Boelter as conservative and religious.
The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a “bad place” where most churches didn’t oppose abortion…
Friends and former colleagues interviewed by AP described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump. Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota where voters don’t list party affiliation…
“He was right-leaning politically but never fanatical, from what I saw, just strong beliefs,” said Paul Schroeder, who has known Boelter for years.
Some were still skeptical that Boelter was being portrayed as, essentially, a Christian assassin. Many people, myself included, wanted to see what Boelter has said for himself in the manifesto before drawing any final conclusions. Well, today we’re getting word of what is in the manifesto and it’s pretty weird.
In a rambling, conspiratorial letter addressed to the FBI, alleged assassin Vance Boelter claimed Gov. Tim Walz instructed him to kill U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar so that Walz could run for the U.S. Senate, according to two people familiar with the contents of the letter.
The letter is the clearest evidence yet of Boelter’s mindset after the targeted violence against Minnesota politicians last week. It is incoherent, one and a half pages long, confusing and hard to read, according to two people familiar with the letter’s contents. It includes Boelter alleging he had been trained by the U.S. military off the books, and that Walz, who is not running for Senate, had asked him to kill Klobuchar and others…
Federal prosecutors allege the letter was left behind in a Buick that Boelter deserted near his home in Green Isle, Minn. It also allegedly contained Boelter’s confession that he carried out the shootings that killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and injured Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
I’m just going to say off the bat I don’t believe Boelter’s story. He’s a murderer and the idea that he’s part of a secret plot just doesn’t add up. What he’s saying sounds either delusional or maybe part of an intentional attempt (like the “No Kings” flyers), to mislead people about his motives. But as a straight story, it simply makes no sense at all.
Guys, the Vance Boelter story isn’t real.
If Tim Walz wanted to be a U.S. Senator, he would be running now with there being an open seat in 2026.
The guy is just mentally insane.
It’s not that complicated.
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) June 21, 2025
This is correct. There is an open Senate seat in Minnesota which is up for election next year. Tim Walz announced in February that he would not be running for that open seat because he wants to run for another term as governor.
“Governor Walz is not running for the United States Senate,” said Teddy Tschann, Mr. Walz’s spokesman. “He loves his job as governor and he’s exploring the possibility of another term to continue his work to make Minnesota the best state in the country for kids.”
By staying out of the contest to replace Senator Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat who is not seeking re-election in 2026, Mr. Walz effectively kicks off a primary contest for the Senate seat that could be competitive should Republicans field a well-financed candidate.
Killing Sen. Klobuchar wouldn’t have created an open seat, it would create a second open seat. Because Sen. Klobuchar just won reelection in 2024, her term doesn’t expire until early 2031. That means Gov. Walz would need to appoint a temporary replacement until a special election could be held to finish out her term. I don’t know if Walz could legal appoint himself to fill the seat temporarily, but even if he did he’d still have to compete in the special election to finish the term. Why do all of that craziness, including getting a hitman to kill Sen. Klobuchar, when there is an open Senate seat he’d already passed on just a few months earlier? It makes zero sense.
And yet, you can go on X right now and there are lots of people darkly suggesting that we’re finally getting the truth about this case. They’re right about finally getting the truth, but only in the sense that this manifesto reveals what a complete nutcase Boelter is.
Keep in mind, he’s still alive so if there is evidence of secret military training and messages from the governor to kill members of his own party, we’ll learn about those at his trial. And for god’s sake, Minnesota police (or Department of Corrections), make absolutely sure Boelter doesn’t harm himself in jail or the conspiracy theories about this case will outlive us all.
Finally, back in the real world, we’re learning some detail on how the Hoffman’s survived the shooting, thanks in part to their daughter.
In a statement released on Thursday night, the Hoffman family recounted the terrifying attack, saying they were woken up by someone impersonating an officer who was banging on their door at 2 a.m. The senator was shot while lunging at the gunman. As he fell to the floor, his wife was shot while pushing the gunman out of the front doorway.
The Hoffmans’ daughter, Hope, shut and locked the door before calling 911, triggering a warning that a “politically motivated act was potentially underway,” according to the statement.
It sounds like Sen. Hoffman was in no condition to call 911 and it’s not clear his wife could have either after being shot 8 times. The daughter’s presence may have saved both their lives.
