A federal grand jury on 15 July returned a six-count indictment against Vance Boelter, accusing the 57-year-old of a politically motivated shooting rampage that left former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, dead and seriously wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. The charges—two counts of murder plus stalking and firearms offenses—open the door to a possible federal death-penalty case. Prosecutors allege Boelter drove a fake police cruiser and wore a rubber mask when he arrived at the Hoffmans’ Champlin home about 2 a.m. on 14 June, firing nine shots at the senator and eight at his wife. After stops at two other lawmakers’ residences, he allegedly killed the Hortmans in Brooklyn Park. A two-day manhunt ended with Boelter’s arrest near his rural home in Green Isle, where investigators recovered weapons, ammunition and lists of additional targets. Officials also disclosed a handwritten letter addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel in which Boelter purportedly confessed and claimed Governor Tim Walz had ordered him to kill other Democratic officials. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson dismissed the assertions as “pure fantasy,” saying investigators believe Boelter acted alone. Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911, but federal law permits the death penalty; Thompson said any decision to seek it will be made by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in the coming months. Senator Hoffman remains in rehabilitation, and funeral services for the Hortmans drew President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris late last month. Boelter is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Minneapolis; parallel state charges remain on hold pending the federal proceedings.