MINNEAPOLIS — The massive manhunt for alleged Minnesota political assassin Vance Luther Boelter — and revelations about his bizarre life and back story — have sparked major questions about his political affiliations and motives.
Cops believe that Vance Luther Boelter murdered a top Democratic state lawmaker and attempted to kill another Dem politician. But, he was also appointed to a state advisory board by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.
Boelter claimed to have a doctorate of education, and said he spent extensive time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa — where he was seen in videos apparently preaching on stage.
Boelter, 57, is being hunted by authorities in connection with the assassination of Democrat Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their suburban Minneapolis home early on Saturday, in what Walz described as “targeted political violence.”
The suspected assassin, who reportedly had a list of 70 “targets” including that of Walz, is also accused of badly wounding a second Democrat lawmaker, Senator John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, at their home in Champlin, a northern suburb of Minneapolis, on Saturday.
Boelter was reportedly impersonating law enforcement when he entered both lawmakers’ homes and when he later exchanged gunfire with police.
Haunting security camera footage believed to show him wearing a creepy latex mask of an old man’s face was shared by the FBI on Saturday, which issued a $50,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
‘Politically motivated assassination’
Gov. Walz described the killing of Hortman as “a politically motivated assassination.”
His roommate said that he had conservative political views, but rarely talked about politics and didn’t seem overtly political.
“He was a Trump supporter. He voted for Trump. He liked Trump. I like Trump,” lifelong friend David Carlson told The Post.
“He didn’t like abortion.”
Boelter lived with Carlson and another man part-time while he worked a job in Minneapolis — while his wife and children lived on a farm in rural Green Isle, about 50 minutes from the big city.
Following the shootings, he sent a sinister message to his friends.
“I’m going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way,” he said in the message, as reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune.
When cops searched Boelter’s car, they found a targeted list of individuals including several politicians as well as abortion providers and pro-abortion politicians, the Star Tribune reported.
Those included Democratic Rep. Kelly Morrison and US Sen. Tina Smith, according to their respective offices.
A picture of handwritten fliers with the slogan “No Kings,” which has become a popular anti-Trump rallying cry, were also reportedly found in his car, according to law enforcement.
Appointed by Gov. Tim Walz
Two notices of appointment for Boelter to the Governor’s Workforce Development Board (GWDB) were obtained by KTTC.
Although the exact motivations for Boelter’s alleged crimes are unclear, it is known that he served on the same state workforce development board as Sen. Hoffman, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said.
The first notice was issued by Gov. Walz’s predecessor, Mark Dayton, a fellow Democrat, in June 2016 for a two-year term.
Boelter was listed as a private sector representative for Dayton’s appointment.
He was reappointed to the board by Gov. Walz in December 2019, this time as a business member, for a term that expired in January 2023.
The GWDB is listed under Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), which includes Sen. Hoffman under its current membership directory.
Waltz sources told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that the governor, who was Kamala Harris’ presidential running-mate, didn’t know Boelter.
Boelter was merely re-appointed to a bipartisan advisory board that had 60 members, his office told the newspaper.
Boelter mysterious work history
Boelter spent much of his career in the food industry, working at Nestle and Del Monte, as well as a spell at Wisconsin-based Johnsonville Sausage, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He is a St. Cloud State University graduate and later received his Master of Science and a doctor of education from Cardinal Stritch University, a private Catholic establishment in Milwaukee, which closed in May 2023 following financial challenges and declining enrollment.
He spent a decade as a general manager at a Greencore grocery store and at a 7-Eleven in Minneapolis before leaving in November 2021 to become CEO of a mysterious company called Red Lion Group.
