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The Minnesota man charged with killing a state lawmaker and her husband in attacks targeting Democrats has admitted to the crimes. He is expected to face life in prison without the possibility of release. Here's Matt Sepic of Minnesota Public Radio.
MATT SEPIC, BYLINE: Even in an era of extreme political violence, Minnesota U.S. Attorney Dan Rosen said Vance Boelter's attacks on lawmakers a year ago Sunday are hard to fathom.
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DAN ROSEN: With regard to what it is that controls the criminal mind and what drives a criminal to want to commit this sort of brutal murder and to do it as coldly as it was done, I wonder if we'll - any of us who live law-abiding lives will ever really be able to understand that sort of motivation.
SEPIC: In response to questions from his attorney in court on Thursday, the 58-year-old Boelter admitted that he'd planned the rampage for months and drew up a handwritten hit list. He disguised himself as a police officer, put flashing lights on his SUV and donned a silicone mask before pounding on the door of Democratic state Senator John Hoffman. When Hoffman answered, Boelter opened fire on the lawmaker and his wife, Yvette. Both survived multiple gunshot wounds. Their daughter, Hope, was there, but was not hit.
Boelter then stopped near the homes of two other Democratic lawmakers but didn't encounter them. Ninety minutes after shooting the Hoffmans, Boelter went to the home of Representative Melissa Hortman. He shot Hortman's husband, Mark, in the doorway, rushed inside and shot the former House speaker at point-blank range just as real police officers arrived. Boelter ran out the back and evaded law enforcement for 43 hours before he was captured near his home outside Minneapolis.
A grand jury indicted Boelter for stalking, murder and gun crimes and gave federal prosecutors the go-ahead to determine if the death penalty would be appropriate. U.S. Attorney Rosen says the Justice Department took it off the table in exchange for Boelter's guilty plea.
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ROSEN: The direction that we had was that we will not seek the death penalty, provided Mr. Boelter enters into the plea agreement that you all saw him enter into today.
SEPIC: In a statement, the Hoffman family says there can't be true justice unless Americans treat people with respect, stop dehumanizing each other and, quote, "stop dividing our country with hate and rhetoric."
For NPR News, I'm Matt Sepic in Minneapolis. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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