When a gunman disguised as a police officer shot two Minnesota legislators and their spouses two months ago, it set off the largest manhunt in the state’s history and left public officials across the country worried about their safety.
In the weeks since, both federal and state prosecutors have filed charges and released new details about what they said led to the shootings. And on Thursday, officials announced that a Minnesota grand jury had indicted the suspect on state charges of first-degree murder.
State Representative Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark, were killed, and another Democratic lawmaker and his wife were wounded in the attacks.
The suspect, Vance Boelter, had previously been charged in state court with second-degree murder, a charge that prosecutors were able to issue without empaneling a grand jury. The more serious first-degree murder charge, which carries a sentence of up to life in prison, required grand jurors to issue an indictment.
It is not clear when Mr. Boelter might appear in court on those state charges. He is already facing murder charges in federal court and could face the death penalty if convicted. He pleaded not guilty to those charges last week. In addition to the deaths of the Hortmans, Mr. Boelter is accused of shooting and wounding State Senator John A. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, before dawn on June 14.
Before the state indictment, the prosecutor’s office in Hennepin County released a statement saying that “our preference would be to proceed with our prosecution immediately” but that “the U.S. attorney’s office has the legal authority to determine the order in which Mr. Boelter is prosecuted.” Minnesota does not have the death penalty for state crimes.
Prosecutors said Mr. Boelter was impersonating a police officer when he went to the suburban Minneapolis homes of the Hortmans and Hoffmans and fired repeatedly. He also visited the streets of two other Democratic lawmakers, federal prosecutors said, and he had a list of other Democratic politicians in his S.U.V., which resembled a police cruiser.
Mr. Boelter abandoned his vehicle and fled after encountering officers at the Hortmans’ home, officials said. After a two-day manhunt, he was arrested in a rural area near his home in Sibley County, Minn.
In an interview with The New York Times conducted through an online messaging system available to inmates at the Sherburne County Jail, Mr. Boelter neither admitted nor denied having carried out the shootings. But he wrote cryptically about having conducted “a 2-year long undercover investigation.”
According to a search warrant filed in the federal case, when Mr. Boelter was still at large he wrote a letter to the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, admitting that he had carried out the shootings. The rambling letter included references to Tim Walz, Minnesota’s Democratic governor, and the state’s two U.S. Senate seats, the warrant said.
Ms. Hortman, a former speaker of the Minnesota House, was remembered by colleagues as a thoughtful and effective lawmaker. When her party had full control of state government in 2023 and 2024, she helped pass bills that expanded abortion rights, legalized recreational marijuana and required that employers provide medical and family leave.
Mr. Hortman, who worked for an electrical manufacturing company, was recalled by friends as an enthusiastic and supportive political spouse with a good sense of humor and an interest in sports.
The Hortmans’ adult children, Sophie and Colin, said in a statement that their parents “leave behind an incredible legacy of dedication to their community that will live on in us, their friends, their colleagues and co-workers, and every single person who knew and loved them.”
The attacks, which were condemned by members of both political parties, stoked concerns about rising political violence in the United States. Officials in some states vowed to take a closer look at the safety of state legislators, who generally have no special security protections and whose home addresses are often posted on government websites and official documents.
Mitch Smith is a Chicago-based national correspondent for The Times, covering the Midwest and Great Plains.
Ernesto Londoño is a Times reporter based in Minnesota, covering news in the Midwest and drug use and counternarcotics policy.
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