Vance Boelter, the suspect charged with killing a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and who may face the death penalty, was described by friends and former colleagues as a devout Christian and political conservative with work issues, according to multiple reports—after Elon Musk and others attempted to portray the shooter as a violent leftist over the weekend.
Key Facts
At a federal court hearing on Monday, Boelter said cannot afford a private attorney to represent him against his six federal charge—he said that he makes about $540 per week at his part-time job, though he owns his home along with seven cars—and the judge recommended a federal public defender, CNN reports.
Federal officials announced at a Monday news conference that Boelter could face the death penalty after what they called “a chilling attack on our democracy” and “political extremism.”
The FBI also said Boelter had visited the homes of multiple other elected officials the night of the shootings, including two other Minnesota lawmakers, CBS reports.
Boelter, 57 and raised in a small Minnesota town, is married with five children, according to a recorded 2021 sermon cited by The Wall Street Journal.
He was a pastor for the Democratic Republic of the Congo-based evangelical church, La Borne Matadi, for which he preached about “living for God” and “the power of joy” on three separate occasions dating back to September 2021, according to an archived page on the church’s website.
Boelter was described as having “sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn’t the answer,” according to an archived website for his ministry cited by The Wall Street Journal.
David Carlson, one of Boelter’s roommates, told the Wall Street Journal that Boelter was working overnight shifts for an organization handling eye donations and would sometimes be on call in the middle of the night—Boelter had quit most of his jobs and was struggling to build a solid income.
Carlson said Boelter had voted for President Donald Trump and was against abortion, and “thought it was murder,” according to the Minnesota Star Tribune, which reported that a list found in the suspect’s SUV included the names of “many lawmakers and other officials,” including Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman, as well as abortion providers.
Authorities said that surveillance footage from Hortman’s house cited in a federal complaint shows Boelter repeatedly ringing the doorbell at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday and shouting: “This is the police. We have a warrant,” according to The Washington Post.
Here Are The Six Criminal Charges Vance Boelter Faces
According to a copy of the federal criminal complaint filed on June 15, Boelter faces six charges, including two counts of second-degree murder for killing Hortman and her husband, which could result in the death penalty; two counts of stalking Hortman and Hoffman; and two counts of shooting both lawmakers and their spouses.
According to the lawsuit, Boelter “embarked on a planned campaign of stalking and violence, designed to inflict fear, injure, and kill members of the Minnesota state legislature and their families.”
Why Did Elon Musk And Others Initially Describe Boelter As A Violent Leftist
Musk wrote on Sunday that the “far left is murderously violent,” and he shared a post in which someone claimed “the left” murdered Hortman.
Shortly after the murder, when Boelter’s name began to circulate on Saturday, various conservative outlets and social media accounts trumpeted Walz’s appointment to a state bipartisan workforce advisory board.
(Conservative social media star Benny Johnson falsely claimed that “Waltz personally knew and appointed the ‘No Kings’ Killer.” However, Walz only reappointed Boelter in 2019 to a voluntary and largely ceremonial board of 60 members, which he had been appointed to by a previous governor.
