MINNEAPOLIS, June 17, 2025 — Federal authorities confirmed this Monday that the suspect in the armed attack that left two dead and two injured in Minnesota had in his possession lists with names of dozens of public officials from various states, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa.
The defendant,
Vance Boelter, 57, was arrested on Sunday. He is accused of impersonating a police officer and fatally shooting former Minnesota House Speaker, Democrat
Melissa Hortman, and her husband, Mark, at their home in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis. In addition, he shot at Democratic State Senator
John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who survived the attack that occurred at their home, located about 15 kilometers away.
During the investigation, law enforcement agents recovered handwritten and electronic documents that included more than 600 names, including public figures, activists, abortion rights advocates, and healthcare center staff. Approximately 70 names were found in the vehicle that Boelter used to commit the crimes, which was disguised as a police patrol.
The
acting federal prosecutor for Minnesota, Joe Thompson, indicated that Boelter had been spying on his potential victims for months, gathering detailed information about them and their families. “This was meticulously planned”, he stated.
The
Illinois State Police (ISP) confirmed that people whose names appeared on the lists have been contacted. In a statement, it noted that the information gathered by Boelter “contained many inaccuracies” and that agents are assessing the risks to those who were mentioned.
Although authorities handle the lists with caution, the
governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, rejected the idea that it is a “blacklist”. “What was found was a disordered compilation of names without clear indications of direct intention”, he stated.
Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the attack, but they highlight that several people on the list had publicly expressed their support for the right to abortion, which could suggest a possible ideological background.
