MN lawmaker shootings: Hoffman family reacts to Vance Boelter guilty plea

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Vance Boelter on Thursday accepted a plea deal in the June 14, 2025, shootings of state lawmakers Melissa Hortman, John Hoffman and their spouses in exchange for prosecutors to not seek the death penalty.

Minnesota lawmaker shootings

What we know:

The politically-motivated attacks killed Hortman and her husband, Mark, and both Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot multiple times at their Champlin home. Boelter pleaded guilty to all six federal charges and could serve two life sentences in prison, plus 40 years.

Both the Hortman and Hoffman families were in the courtroom Thursday when Boelter opted to change his plea.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office said it is still moving forward with state charges against Boelter.

Hoffman family: ‘There is no justice for Mark and Melissa Hortman’

What they're saying:

Shortly after Boelter changed is plea to guilty in the shootings, the Hoffman family released the following statement:

"There is no justice for Mark and Melissa Hortman, and there is not justice when our family and our state will never truly heal. While the legal process may provide accountability, true healing requires something more from all of us.

"The choice we’ve made is to go forward with public service and present for our community. The opportunity to justice is for Minnesota and Americans to serve is to treat people with respect, to stop de-humanizing each other and to stop dividing our country with hate and rhetoric."

John Hoffman returns to Capitol

Why you should care:

Back in February, the 2026 Minnesota legislative session started with House leaders holding a remembrance for Melissa Hortman, who was fatally shot at her Brooklyn Park home last June.

Hoffman, after months of being hospitalized and in recovery, walked up the Capitol steps and entered Senate chambers to a standing ovation. Hoffman was shot nine times on the morning of June 14, 2025. His wife, Yvette, was wounded eight times. Their daughter, Hope, had a gun pointed to her head and was able to call 911 to get help to their Champlin home.

"Man it is really good to be back in this chamber with all of you. Over the past few months, my family and I have walked through a chapter that changes a person. When you survive an attempted assassination, you look at the world differently," Hoffman said. "The noise fades, and that posturing fades. The chatter becomes irrelevant. What remains is what is truly important – Family, community and the responsibility that we have to care for one another."