The man accused of shooting two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses made a brief appearance in federal court on Thursday, where a judge ordered that he remain in custody as he awaits trial.
The man, Vance Boelter, 57, was arrested on June 15, ending a nearly two-day manhunt. Prosecutors say he is the gunman who stormed into the homes of two state lawmakers in the early hours of the previous day and opened fire, as part of what they said was a campaign to target and kill Democratic elected officials.
Mr. Boelter waived his right to a detention hearing, during which prosecutors outline some of the evidence supporting the charges against a defendant. U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko asked whether Mr. Boelter understood that he was foregoing his right to these proceedings.
The defendant said he did, and added that he was “looking forward to court,” where he said the truth would emerge. It was not clear what Mr. Boelter was referring to, but he said part of that truth pertained to “what happened before the 14th,” an apparent reference to the date of the shootings.
Mr. Boelter faces murder and attempted murder charges in both state and federal court. He is accused of fatally shooting State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and of wounding Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, inside their houses, a few miles apart in the suburbs of Minneapolis. The Hoffmans survived.
During Thursday’s hearing, his federal public defender, Manvir Atwal, said there was little point in holding a hearing on the merits of keeping him detained pending federal trial because he is subject to a separate detention order in the state case. She said Mr. Boelter could not afford to pay the $5 million bail set in state court.
Law enforcement officials have said that Mr. Boelter had a target list with dozens of names that included Democratic elected officials and abortion providers. On the night of the shootings, prosecutors say, the suspect approached the residences of two more state lawmakers. One wasn’t home; a police officer appears to have spooked him at the other.
Investigators said they found dozens of rifles and handguns inside the suspect’s primary residence in Green Isle, Minn., a town roughly 50 miles west of Minneapolis. An F.B.I. agent said the suspect was a “prepper” who had been preparing his family for a looming calamity.
Mr. Boelter appeared briefly in court last week, wearing a green garment held together with Velcro patches. The public defender representing him, Ms. Atwal, said the garment is issued by Sherburne County jail officials when they believe someone might commit suicide.
On Wednesday, he was back in a traditional bright-yellow jail jumpsuit.
Ms. Atwal also complained at the hearing last week about the conditions for her client: The lights in his cell were being kept on around the clock, she told Judge Micko, citing what Mr. Boelter had told her, and that the area where he was being held often smelled like feces.
The Sherburne County sheriff, Joel Brott, who runs the jail, issued a statement shortly after last week’s hearing responding to the claims of mistreatment. “He is not in a hotel,” the Sheriff Brott wrote. “He’s in a jail, where a person belongs when they commit the heinous crimes he is accused of committing.”
Mr. Boelter said during that hearing last week that he had slept very little since his arrest, but was not contemplating self-harm. Judge Micko agreed to put off the detention hearing until this week so that Mr. Boelter could appear in court better rested. During Thursday’s hearing, he said the lights were still being kept on at all times, making it hard to “know if it’s day or night.”
Mr. Boelter has not yet entered a plea in either state or federal court. His lawyer, Ms. Atwal, has not responded to requests for an interview.
Ernesto Londoño is a Times reporter based in Minnesota, covering news in the Midwest and drug use and counternarcotics policy.
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