Man charged with killing Minnesota lawmaker pleads guilty
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The memorial to the late former Speaker Melissa Hortman in the Minnesota House chambers. Photo: Kyle Stokes/Axios
The man charged in last year's politically motivated attacks that killed Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and wounded another legislator and his wife pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court.
The big picture: The guilty plea brings a measure of resolution to a case that rattled Minnesota politics and became a national symbol of growing concerns about political violence.
Driving the news: Vance Boelter, 58, is responsible for killing Melissa and Mark Hortman and wounding Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, last June.
The latest: Minnesota's U.S. Attorney Dan Rosen told reporters Thursday that prosecutors agreed to drop death penalty charges if Boelter pleaded guilty and accepted two consecutive life sentences.
- Boelter's acceptance of that deal was "the only circumstance under which the death penalty was off the table," he said.
Zoom in: The plea agreement became public days after the U.S. Attorney's Office informed judges it would not seek the death penalty.
- It also landed just days before the first anniversary of the June 14 attacks.
Between the lines: In order to secure a death sentence in federal court, prosecutors would have needed to prove that Boelter had killed the Hortmans while committing another "crime of violence."
- Prosecutors may have been hemmed in by a January ruling in the Luigi Mangione case, which held that stalking doesn't count as a "crime of violence."
- Boelter faced a stalking charge, in addition to murder and firearms charges.
Yes, but: Rosen said prosecutors believed they could ultimately have secured a death sentence for Boelter with the charges they filed.
- "But the truth is, when you have a defendant that is prepared to plead guilty … to ensure that he never sees freedom again in his entire life, that was an opportunity that we just could not pass up," the U.S. Attorney said.
- Rosen acknowledged the Mangione ruling may introduce "murkiness" in death penalty law, but he also said there were differences between that case and Boelter's.
The intrigue: Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the shootings, but Rosen said that milestone did not affect the decision to announce the plea agreement.
What we're watching: In addition to the federal case, Boelter also faces murder and attempted murder charges in state court.
- Shortly after the morning's federal court proceedings, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Thursday her office will move forward with those charges.
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and may be updated. It has been updated with comments from Rosen and Moriarty.