Vance Boelter, who acknowledged in federal court that he shot two Minnesota elected officials and their spouses, was handed a sentence Thursday morning of two life terms in prison plus an additional 40 years.
U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim described the punishment as “the longest sentence I have imposed after hearing thousands of cases over the years,” adding that, in this case, it was “well deserved.”
Boelter, who turned 59 on Thursday, entered guilty pleas in June to six federal counts. Under the plea agreement, he admitted to murdering former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and to shooting Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in an attack that also placed their daughter, Hope, in danger.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in June that prosecutors would not pursue the death penalty against Boelter.
Ahead of sentencing, federal prosecutors argued in a Tuesday court filing that “Justice requires that Boelter never be free again.” The sentence imposed Thursday ensures he will not be eligible for parole.
Boelter is also expected to face separate state prosecution. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has previously said it intends to proceed with charges including two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, felony cruelty to an animal and impersonating a police officer.
In addition to the criminal cases, the Hoffman family has filed a civil lawsuit against Boelter. The complaint accuses him of assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and negligence per se.
The June 14, 2025, shootings in the Twin Cities suburbs of Champlin and Brooklyn Park triggered a 43-hour manhunt that ended in rural Green Isle, Minnesota. Authorities have said the attacks were driven by political motives.
In the most recent legislative session, Hortman’s colleagues approved a number of tributes to her, including a memorial garden for the State Office Building and the renaming of Highway 610 and Minnesota’s community solar garden program in her honor. Lawmakers also passed two measures championed by Hortman’s son Colin, which aim to ease the burdens on families following traumatic events.
Boelter speaks before sentencing
Boelter gave a brief statement to the court before being sentenced.
“To every person I have caused loss, pain, heartache, confusion, shame or loneliness, I am truly sorry,” he said.
Hortman children say they still think of parents’ murders daily
Sophie and Colin Hortman, children to Melissa and Mark, told the court the pain they experienced after Boelter killed their parents is unforgettable.
“What I cared about is my entire life had been shattered in 30 seconds,” Sophie Hortman said. “My parents were dead. The dog had been shot multiple times. My brother was wrecked.”
Colin Hortman said he lives with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The blood that was spilled is the last thing I see before I fall asleep and the first thing I see as I wake,” he said, adding that when he pictures his parents, he sees “bullet holes.”
Both admitted no penalty would be fully satisfactory, but Colin Hortman asked for the maximum sentence with no possibility of release.
“Justice can never be served for those who lost,” Sophie Hortman said. “I miss my mom. I miss my dad. I miss my best friends. I miss believing in the goodness of humanity.”
Hoffmans recount horror of shooting, difficulty of aftermath
John Hoffman said he “returned to the Minnesota Senate because I refuse to allow violence to become the author of my future.”
Still, he said, his family lives “with a heightened awareness that enters every room before we do.”
“Our home no longer feels like the sanctuary it once was,” he said. “We installed solid steel doors and reinforced security. Your honor, those aren’t home improvements. They are daily reminders that violence followed us home.”
Yvette Hoffman said she “genuinely believed” she was dying after being shot.
“I’ll never forget looking down and watching my blood stream down that white washing machine as I felt myself sinking to the floor and fading,” she said.
“I came face to face with evil,” she later added. “I survived it. I will carry the memory of that day with me for the rest of my life.”
Hope Hoffman, whose father said her actions “helped save our lives and many others,” said she lives not only with the trauma caused by the attack, but that of the “bias and sensationalism” she endured from the media in the aftermath.
“In all reality, I’d like to just be a victim of gun violence who called 911. I really shouldn’t have to be advocating for that, but here we are,” she said.
Both Hope and Yvette Hoffman shared ill wishes for their attacker.
“Not only is he a criminal and a loser, he’s also the worst kind of father he could possibly be,” Hope Hoffman said. “I hope one day he miserably dies with that thought.”
“If I had a wish, it is when the defendant’s life ends, his body is carried out of federal prison in one of those body bags he intended for my family,” Yvette Hoffman said.
Fellow lawmakers say attacks shook, changed them
Before the sentencing, Rep. Kristin Bahner, who said Boelter also visited her home the night he shot the Hortmans and Hoffmans, gave an emotional victim impact statement.
“Nothing could prepare me for an assassin at my door,” Bahner said. “I never dreamt that doing the job that I love would put my family in harm’s way, forever shattering their innocence.”
Bahner told the judge, “I only want one thing. That neither courts nor you can give me, Mr. Boelter. I want Melissa back.”
Rep. Zack Stephenson, who took over as House DFL leader after Hortman’s killing, said Boelter’s actions “sent a message of terror to everyone who serves in public life,” but that “our caucus is stronger, more unified and even more dedicated to the values that Melissa and Mark lived their life by.”
“Melissa consistently acted the way every Minnesotan, every American, would hope their representative would act,” Stephenson said. “There has never been another Melissa Hortman and I doubt there ever will be.”
Conor Wight and
contributed to this report.
