Vance Boelter told Kash Patel in letter that Gov. Tim Walz told him to kill Democratic lawmakers: report
Vance Boelter, the man accused of killing Democratic Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in June, told FBI Director Kash Patel that Gov. Tim Walz instructed him to kill other Democratic lawmakers as part of an elaborate plot, according to a newly released letter.
“Dear Kash Patel. My name is Dr. Vance Luther, Boelter E.d.D. I am the shooter at large in Minnesota,” Boelter wrote in the letter, according to the FBI. The letter was unveiled by federal prosecutors Tuesday after his indictment.
Officials say they recovered the memo from a car near his home a day after the shooting, though it was not confirmed whether the car was his.
Prosecutors say Boelter, 57, was driving a fake police cruiser car, wearing a rubber mask that covered his head and wearing tactical gear around 2 a.m. on June 14 when he went to the home of Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in the Minneapolis suburb of Champlin.
He then allegedly shot the senator and his wife nearly 20 times, but they both survived. He then stopped at the homes of two other lawmakers, say prosecutors.
One, in Maple Grove, where no one was home, and a second, in New Hope, where a police officer is thought to have scared him off.
Boelter then allegedly went to the Hortmans’ home in nearby Brooklyn Park, shooting and killing them both, police said. Their dog was so gravely injured that he had to be euthanized.
He was arrested after a two-day manhunt near his family home in Green Isle, Minnesota.
“I was hired by U.S. Military people off the books starting in college,” he allegedly states in the letter, before claiming that he “was approached about a project that Tim Walz wanted done,” alluding that other senior lawmakers were aware of the alleged plot.
“Tim wanted me to kill [Minnesota Senator] Amy Klobuchar and Tim [blank]. Tim wants to be a senator, and he already hired [blank] to retire as planned,” Boelter wrote, according to the FBI.
Boelter was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury on six federal charges in connection with the stalking and murders of Hortman and her husband, as well as the stalking and the shooting at the Hoffmans’ home, as well as the attempted shooting of their daughter Hope Hoffman, said acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
In the letter, the suspect reportedly claimed that Walz, Kamala Harris’ former running mate, instructed him to “remove [Minnesota Attorney General] Keith Ellison with a double poisoning method.”
The accused said he refused the deal and “called off that plan,” but said that Walz promised to blackmail him, “If I didn’t play ball.”
Boelter then said he met with Walz and had “some people waiting to kill me” when he returned home – an incident that informed his decision to shoot the lawmakers.
His public defender, Manny Atwal, who was appointed last month, refused to comment on the defendant’s mental competency and insisted that Boelter “will be pleading not guilty” when he returns to court for formal arraignment.
“Vance Boelter planned and carried out a night of terror that shook Minnesota to its core,” the U.S. attorney said.
“He carried out targeted political assassinations the likes of which have never been seen in Minnesota. We grieve with the Hortman family and continue to pray for the recovery of the Hoffmans. Today, a grand jury indicted Boelter with the most serious of federal charges for these heinous political assassinations.
“Let me be clear: Boelter will see justice.”
Thompson reaffirmed Tuesday that authorities have still not determined a clear motive but believe Boleter acted alone.
An investigation is ongoing.
