Hours after allegedly killing a Minnesota state representative and her husband, Vance Boelter sent a text to his wife telling her to flee.
In a newly unsealed affidavit obtained by The New York Times, FBI agent Terry Getsch described the message the suspect sent to Jenny Boelter, 51.
“The text stated something to the effect of they should prepare for war, they needed to get out of the house, and people with guns may be showing up to the house,” he wrote.
Boelter, 57, and his wife were “preppers,” Getsch said. The term refers to people who prepare for a cataclysmic event they believe is imminent, often stockpiling food and equipment.
After discovering the text last Saturday while searching for the killer, law enforcement pulled over Jenny Boelter’s car, the Times reported.
She consented to a search of her car, where authorities discovered about $10,000 in cash, passports, and two guns—a revolver stowed in the glove box and a semiautomatic pistol inside a cooler.
The Times reported that Boelter told police that her husband had recently purchased a mask from Amazon, presumably the one he is alleged to have worn during the attacks.
Authorities claim that Boelter is responsible for the murder of state Representative Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband, Mark Hortman, at their home early on Saturday. He is also alleged to have shot state Senator John Hoffman, 60, and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, at their home, but they survived. Both lawmakers were Democrats.
Shortly after the attacks, law enforcement recovered a list of around 70 potential targets from the suspect’s car, which included Minnesota Democrats such as Governor Tim Walz, Representative Ilhan Omar, and Senator Tina Smith. It also included abortion providers and advocates.
Getsch, the FBI agent, wrote that Boelter drained his bank account, withdrawing $2,200, and was driven away from the bank by an individual whose name is redacted in the file, the Times reported.
Boelter was located by authorities and arrested on Sunday.
Jenny Boelter has not been accused of a crime by authorities, and the Times reported that nothing in the affidavit suggests that she was aware of the attacks ahead of time.
On Friday, news broke that Boelter had sent an “incoherent” letter to the FBI alleging that Walz had instructed him to kill Senator Amy Klobuchar and several others so that he could run for Senate.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said, “Due to the seriousness of the allegations it contains, we will state only that we have seen no evidence that the allegations regarding Governor Walz are based in fact.”
A spokesperson for Walz said that “this tragedy continues to be deeply disturbing for all Minnesotans” and that “Governor Walz is grateful to law enforcement who apprehended the shooter, and he’s grateful to the prosecutors who will ensure justice is swiftly served.”
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