BEL Plain, Minnesota (AP) — The man suspected of killing a Minnesota legislator and injuring another person has been taken into custody, and two law enforcement officials say they have put an end to a nearly two-day search that puts the state on the edge.
Vance Belter was arrested Sunday evening. The arrest was confirmed by law enforcement officials with the Associated Press and was not permitted to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation. He spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Former Democratic Party Chairman Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed early Saturday at a Brooklyn Park home in a northern Minneapolis suburb. Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife Yvette, were injured in a Shamplin home about nine miles away.
Bolter was captured in Minnesota, but officials didn’t say where to say it right away.
The criminal charges sealed on a crime Sunday night say they face two counts of two-degree murders and two-degree murders in the death of Holtemans and the injury to Hoffman and his wife.
Hoffman was first attacked at Champin’s home early on Saturday. After police in nearby Brooklyn Park learned of the shooting, they sent patrol officers to check out the Hortmans home.
According to the complaint, Brooklyn Park police officers arrived just in time to watch Bolter shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the house. They say they traded the shooting for Belter.
Early Sunday, Drew Evans, the director of the Criminal Arrests, said authorities believe Belter is using the car on the farm about an hour west of Minneapolis, where he believes Belter is using the car. He also said he found evidence in a vehicle that was related to the investigation but did not provide details.
Authorities, named 57-year-old Bolter, as suspect, said he was wearing a mask when he posed as a police officer, and even allegedly changed the vehicle to make the vehicle look like a police car.
Evens confirmed that investigators found a cowboy hat near the vehicle and believed it belonged to Boelter. The director also said authorities interviewed Belter’s wife and other families in connection with Saturday’s shooting. He said they were cooperative and not in custody.
The FBI had issued rewards of up to $50,000 for information that led to his arrest and conviction. They circulated photos taken Saturday of Boerter wearing a tanned cowboy hat and asked the public to report sightings.
More than 100 law enforcement officials, including the SWAT team, were searching the area, including a nearby home, Evans said. He also said they received over 400 tips from the public.
Previous searches took place in rural Sibley County, approximately 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Minneapolis. There, Boerter had a house with his wife and five children. Residents in the area have received emergency warnings about where they warn them to lock their doors and cars.
The shooting comes when political leaders across the country are attacked, harassed and blackmailed in deep political divisions. Lawmakers said when twin city residents grieved, they were interrupted by the attack.
The brightly colored flowers and a small American flag were placed on the gray marble stones of the Minnesota Capitol on Sunday, along with a photograph of Holtimann. People scrawled messages with small notes, such as, “You have been our leader throughout the most difficult times. You are in power.”
Pam Stein came along with flowers and kneeled down at the monument. Emotional Stein calls Hortman an “absolute powerhouse” and “the real, nameless hero of the Minnesota government.”
There are no details regarding motivation
Authorities have not yet provided details about their motivation.
A list of about 70 names was found in the book recovered from a fake police vehicle left at the crime scene, officials said. Officials said the list of works and names included prominent state and federal lawmakers and community leaders, and included information about abortion rights advocates and health facilities.
While describing the material as a “manifesto” on Saturday, Evans made it clear that the paper was not a political or ideological paper. He said it was more of a notebook, listing lawmakers and others, and mixed ideas. He refused to provide details.
A Minnesota official told the Associated Press that lawmakers who were frankly speaking in support of abortion rights are on the list. The official spoke about the state of anonymity as the investigation was ongoing.
The attack urged other state elected officials to warn them and cancelled planned “no-kings” demonstrations against President Donald Trump, but some moved on anyway. Authorities said the suspect had a “king” flyer in his car.
Suspect
Records show that Belter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development committee as Hoffman, but it was not clear whether or how well they knew each other.
Around 6am on Saturday, Bolter texted a friend to apologise for his actions, but he didn’t say what he had done.
“I’m going to leave for a while. I just want to let you know I love both of you because I might be dead soon. I hope it’s not going this way…I’m sorry for all the trouble this caused,” he wrote in a message seen by the AP.
Two Democrats were targeted
Police first responded to reports of a shooting at Hoffmans’ home just after 2am on Saturday, finding a couple with multiple gunshot wounds.
Local police in Brooklyn Park are assisting with the phone and have decided to actively check out the nearby Hortman home, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said Saturday.
There they encounter what appears to be a police vehicle and a man who dressed the officer leaving the house. The officers confronted him, he fired at them, and the officers fired. The suspect then returned home and escaped on foot, Bruly said.
On Sunday evening, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a statement from Yvette Hoffmann, expressing her gratitude for the pouring of public support.
“John is currently enduring many surgeries and is approaching leaving the woods every hour,” Yvette Hoffman said in a text that Klobuchar posted on social media. “He got nine bullet hits. I’ve taken eight times. We’re both incredibly lucky to be alive.
On social media, Gov. Tim Waltz remembered Hortman on Sunday as “the most consequential speaker in the history of the state.”
Hortman, 55, has been the top Democrat leader of the state Capitol since 2017. She led the Democrats on a three-week strike at the beginning of this year’s session in the power struggle with the Republicans. Under the power sharing agreement, she handed over the small giveaway to Republican Rep. Lisa Demus and took on title speaker Emelita.
Hortman used his position as a speaker in 2023 to expand the protection of abortion rights. This expanded protection of abortion rights, including laws that include shelter as shelter for restrictive state patients traveling to states seeking abortion.
The couple had an adult son and an adult daughter.
Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and chaired the Senate Human Services Committee, which oversees one of the biggest parts of the state budget. He and his wife have one adult daughter.
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Karnowski reported from Minneapolis, while Balsamo and Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Michael Bee Zecker, Associated Press Writer in Washington. Jim Mustrian of New York. Contributors were Sofia Turrene of Chicago and Makiya Seminella of Raleigh, North Carolina.
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