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Vance Boelter, the man accused of carrying out a brutal political assassination plot that killed former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband while wounding another state senator and his wife, has pleaded guilty in federal court as part of a deal that spares him the death penalty.

At a hearing Thursday morning, the 58-year-old Boelter entered guilty pleas to six federal counts. Under the agreement with prosecutors, he faces a recommended sentence of two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in prison. The judge approved the plea and moved to expedite sentencing, aiming to wrap it up before the end of July.

Boelter had previously pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the June 14, 2025, attacks. Prosecutors say he carried out the shootings as part of a calculated act of political violence. The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed it would not seek the death penalty as a condition of the plea deal.

U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen described Boelter as “brutally murderous” and called the shootings “among the worst political violence crimes that we have seen.” He emphasized that avoiding the death penalty was only possible because Boelter accepted the agreement.

The victims’ families, including the Hortman children and the Hoffmans, attended the hearing.

This plea deal brings a measure of swift accountability in a case that shocked the nation and highlighted the growing threat of targeted political violence in America. By pleading guilty, Boelter avoids the uncertainty of a full trial and the possibility of execution — but he will almost certainly spend the rest of his life behind bars.

State charges, including first-degree premeditated murder, still remain active, meaning Boelter will face additional accountability in Minnesota court. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty vowed to hold him fully responsible, noting that state sentences cannot be pardoned by the president.

For the families of Melissa and Mark Hortman, and for Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, today’s development offers some closure — though nothing can truly repair the devastation caused by this calculated attack on elected officials and their loved ones.

The case stands as a grim reminder that political differences are increasingly turning deadly, and that those who choose violence over democracy will be pursued relentlessly by the justice system.