Vance Boelter, the man charged with killing Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband in June 2025, is expected to plead guilty in federal court Thursday after the Justice Department agreed not to pursue the death penalty against him, according to court filings reviewed by ABC News.
The Justice Department notified U.S. District judges John Tunheim and Dulce Foster of Boelter's intent to change his plea in a letter on Wednesday. Judge Tunheim set a change-of-plea hearing for Thursday at 10 a.m. local time.
Prosecutors said they dropped pursuit of the death penalty after a federal judge ruled earlier this year in a separate, unrelated murder case that interstate stalking charges do not rise to the level required to support a capital crime.
Boelter was arrested nearly a year ago following a two-day manhunt. He is accused of disguising himself as a police officer and fatally shooting Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark, at their home on June 14, 2025. That same day, prosecutors say, he traveled to the home of state Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and shot the lawmaker and his wife, Yvette, and attempted to shoot their daughter. Both John and Yvette Hoffman survived.
Boelter previously pleaded not guilty to six federal counts including murder, attempted murder, stalking and firearms-related charges. He has also pleaded not guilty in state court, where he faces life in prison if convicted.
After his arrest, police found a notebook in Boelter's abandoned, fake police vehicle containing a list of elected officials. The Minnesota U.S. attorney described the alleged plot at the time as the "stuff of nightmares." Prosecutors said Boelter also traveled to the homes of two other state lawmakers but found no one at those locations.
