Minnesota man gets life terms for killing Democratic lawmaker and spouse

Vance Boelter was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in federal prison on July 23, 2026, for the killings of Minnesota Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and the shooting of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman. The punishment capped a federal case prosecutors treated as an assassination, not a routine homicide, after Boelter pleaded guilty in June 2026 to six federal counts.

U.S. federal prosecutors said the guilty plea meant they would not seek the death penalty. That decision left the sentencing hearing focused on the violence itself and the people left behind, with family members, friends, lawmakers and survivors addressing the court about trauma and loss.

The attack shocked Minnesota because it targeted elected officials in their homes. Reuters reported that the gunman impersonated police during the spree, visited other legislators’ homes and carried out the attacks over about 90 minutes. Melissa Hortman, a former Minnesota House speaker, and Mark Hortman were killed. John Hoffman and Yvette Hoffman were shot and survived.

Boelter’s capture ended a fast-moving manhunt that MPR News described as the largest in Minnesota state history. He was taken into custody in Sibley County on June 15, 2025. The next day, Reuters reported that he appeared in court on murder charges. Later, on June 11, 2026, Reuters reported that he had pleaded guilty in the federal case after previously entering a not-guilty plea.

The sentencing hearing underscored how the case has reverberated through Minnesota politics and beyond. AP and local coverage described emotional statements from the Hortman family and from lawmakers who spoke about the fear and grief left by the shooting. According to that coverage, the judge said the long sentence was warranted.

For the victims’ families, the outcome cannot restore what was lost in the 90-minute attack that began with a man dressed as police and ended with two deaths and two survivors. For Boelter, the sentence closes the federal case with the harshest punishment available short of death.