Accused assassin Vance Boelter blames Gov. Tim Walz for murderous rampage: Report

In a letter to the FBI, suspected political assassin Vance Luther Boelter blamed Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for the June 14 shooting rampage that killed a key Democratic House member and her husband and seriously wounded a Democratic state senator and his wife.

Liz Collin of Alpha News broke the story Friday, citing “multiple sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.”

Gov. Tim Walz said Democrats should ‘bully the s**t out of’ President Trump.

The story said that a confession letter that Boelter left in a Buick sedan he abandoned June 15 during his flight from police places the blame for the massacre on the governor. The letter was addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel, Alpha News wrote. The story does not elaborate further on the letter contents.

Boelter was charged in federal court June 16 with the stalking and assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) and her husband, Mark Hortman. They were gunned down inside the front door of their home that backs up to Edinburgh Golf Course in Brooklyn Park. Boelter is charged with two additional felony counts for use of a firearm in furtherance of the murders. He could face the death penalty.

Boelter is also charged with a firearms offense for allegedly pumping 17 bullets into state Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) and his wife, Yvonne Hoffman, just inside the entry to their home about five miles from the Hortman residence. They are recovering from the wounds. A GoFundMe account was set up to aid them in their lengthy recovery.

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Vance Luther Boelter allegedly sought to kill 4 Minnesota lawmakers in the overnight hours on June 14, 2025.Photos by FBI and Liz Collin/Alpha News

According to charging documents filed in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, after Boelter allegedly shot the Hoffmans, he went to the homes of two other Democratic lawmakers, state Rep. Kristin Bahner (DFL-Maple Grove) and state Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope). Bahner was not home. New Hope police rushing to check on Sen. Rest scared off Boelter, who was sitting in his parked SUV a block away.

Boelter was dressed in a police uniform and tactical vest with body armor, the FBI said. He wore a “hyper-realistic” silicone mask that covered his entire head and carried a tactical flashlight. Boelter drove a black Ford SUV painted and detailed to look like a police vehicle, including a flashing emergency light bar on the roof.

He allegedly parked the fake police vehicle in the Hortmans’ driveway with the emergency lights engaged about 3:30 a.m. June 14. He was on the front porch as cars from the Brooklyn Park Police Department pulled up to do a welfare check on the Hortmans. Boelter allegedly opened fire on the officers, then forced his way into the home and shot the couple and their golden retriever, Gilbert, the FBI said. The couple and their dog died from bullet wounds.

After allegedly shooting the Hortmans, Boelter escaped out the rear of the home and went on the lam. He was seen on security video less than three hours later in the alley behind a North Minneapolis home where he sublets a room. There was a second black Ford SUV parked near the home’s garage. Boelter is shown on video smashing the front passenger window with a blunt object before leaving the area.

Boelter convinced a man at a nearby bus stop to sell him an e-bike. He rode the bus to the man’s house and paid him $900 for the bike and a used Buick sedan. Boelter then evaded police until 9:15 p.m. the next day, when a woman in her driveway spotted him in a field in Green Isle, some 60 miles from the North Minneapolis house. Police closed in and arrested him without incident.

Boelter had earlier abandoned the Buick along Highway 25 in Belle Plaine, Minn. Police found a letter inside addressed to the FBI, along with Boelter’s cowboy hat. In the letter Boelter said he was the one police were searching for in the shooting case, court records revealed.

Gov. Walz appointed Boelter to a state workforce development commission for a term that ended in 2023. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Boelter to a similar commission in 2016 for a two-year term.

Walz was heavily criticized on the right for remarks about President Trump he made May 31 in which he suggested Democrats “be a little more fierce” and “bully the s*** out of him.” He referred to the president as an “existential threat.”

Boelter is being held without bail in federal custody. He is scheduled to be in court in St. Paul on June 27.

Blaze News reached out to Governor Walz’s office, the U.S. attorney in Minneapolis, and the FBI in Brooklyn Center, Minn. None of the parties responded before publication.

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