The man accused of shooting two Democratic state lawmakers and their spouses in Minnesota while impersonating a police officer was taken into custody in rural Sibley County, about 50 miles away from Minneapolis, on Sunday evening, ending a massive two-day manhunt that was described as the largest in the state’s history.
The suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was arrested and charged with two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and an array of federal offenses in the fatal shooting of former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shooting of Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their homes north of Minneapolis early Saturday.
Boelter is due to appear in court on both state and federal charges Monday afternoon.
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“One man’s unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference announcing Boelter’s arrest, calling the killing of Hortman a “politically motivated assassination.”
Authorities reportedly recovered an apparent hit list containing the names of dozens of Minnesota Democratic lawmakers, including Walz, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and state Attorney General Keith