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‘Politically Motivated Assassination’ Targets Two Minnesota Democrats UPDATE: Suspect Identified, Had ‘Manifesto’ — ‘No Kings’ Motive? UPDATE: ‘False Flag’? It’s So Confusing!

Posted on | June 14, 2025 | 1 Comment

State Sen. John Hoffman (left); State Rep. Melissa Hortman (right)

“A manhunt is now underway for the gunman”:

A Minnesota state representative and her husband were shot and killed, and a state senator and his wife were shot and wounded in an “act of targeted political violence” at their homes early Saturday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said.
A manhunt is now underway for the gunman who was impersonating a police officer, authorities said. The gunman attacked by knocking on the doors and asking the victims to come out, police said.
State Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband were shot and killed in what appears to be a “politically-motivated assassination,” Walz said at a news conference.
“She was a formidable public servant,” the governor said of his friend. “She is irreplaceable.”
State Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife were both shot multiple times and underwent surgery, the governor said. . . .
The two shooting locations are a few miles away from each other in Champlin and Brooklyn Park, just north of Minneapolis.
Hoffman and his wife were shot around 2 a.m. in Champlin, Superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Drew Evans said.
After Hoffman was shot, officers were heading to pro-actively check on Hortman when they encountered the suspect at Hortman’s home around 3:35 a.m., Evans said.
The officers found a person who was dressed as a police officer — wearing a vest and a badge, and with a Taser and other equipment — at the door, coming out of Hortman’s house, police said.
The suspect fired at the officers; gunfire was exchanged and the suspect was able to escape and flee on foot, authorities said.
The suspect’s vehicle — which looked like a police vehicle, including police lights — was in Hortman’s driveway, authorities said.
A list of other possible targets was retrieved from the suspect’s vehicle, authorities said. Police said the list had “many lawmakers,” including the victims. . . .
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said the agency is “fully engaged on the ground in Minnesota.”

UPDATE: This is not yet officially confirmed:

While we await official confirmation, I must emphasize the need to beware of rumors and speculation about motive.

UPDATE II: Again, not officially confirmed:

If true, this would be the first clear evidence we have of the gunman’s motive. We await more developments.

UPDATE III: Still more unconfirmed reports:

UPDATE IV: The New York Post reports:

A former appointee of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is being sought in connection with the assassination of a state lawmaker and the shooting of another, police sources said.
Vance Luther Boelter allegedly posed as a police officer when he shot Sen. John Hoffman and his wife in their Champlin home early Saturday, leaving them seriously injured before moving on to former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman’s house — where he is believed to have slaughtered her and her husband, sources told The Post.
Boelter, 57, was appointed by Walz in 2019 to serve a four year stint on the Governor’s Workforce Development Board, documents show.
He previously served on the Governor’s Workforce Development Council in 2016 under then -Gov. Mark Dayton.
The killer had fliers with the words “No Kings” in his car, a reference to Saturday’s planned protests against the Trump Administration, as well as a “manifesto” and a list of other politicians’ names, said police, who briefly cornered the shooter at Hortman’s home before the suspect fled.

Meanwhile, the manhunt for Boelter continues.

UPDATE V: It looks like maybe I jumped the gun a bit here, despite my desire to be cautious about such things. The shooter’s “manifesto” allegedly also listed abortion providers as targets, and some are suggesting that Boelter may be a right-wing extremist, so that the “No Kings” flyers were part of a “false flag” deception. At this point, however, we can’t be certain of his motive. It’s entirely possible he just slipped a cog and went nuts and, as you know, Crazy People Are Dangerous.



 

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Category: Minnesota, Terrorism

Comments

One Response to “‘Politically Motivated Assassination’ Targets Two Minnesota Democrats UPDATE: Suspect Identified, Had ‘Manifesto’ — ‘No Kings’ Motive? UPDATE: ‘False Flag’? It’s So Confusing!”

  1. Minnesota Assassin Captured: Exactly Why Did Vance Boelter Go Crazy? : The Other McCain
    June 16th, 2025 @ 1:54 pm

    […] Having spent most of the day Saturday trying to figure out what motivated Vance Boelter, I am perplexed by Moriary’s seeming certainty that political rhetoric was to blame for his crimes. As someone who is constantly monitoring political discourse, I’ve been exposed to almost every form of “misinformation and conspiracy theories” out there, and yet have never gone on a murder spree. Just now, the acting U.S. Attorney in Minnesota gave a press conference in which he said the “why” of Boelter’s crimes is “not clear.” He said that Boelter had apparently been planning these assassinations for months, and had a list of targets — all of them Democrats. So there’s that. Meanwhile . . . […]