Feds won’t seek death penalty in plea deal with man accused of killing top Minnesota Democrat

Feds won’t seek death penalty in plea deal with man accused of killing top Minnesota Democrat 1 of 2 | A photo of Mark and Melissa Hortman is displayed during their funeral service inside the sanctuary at the Basilica of St. Mary’s in Minneapolis on June 28, 2025. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP, Pool, File) 2 of 2 | This courtroom sketch shows Vance Boelter, who is charged with killing the top Democrat in the Minnesota-house" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="144058" data-entity-type="organization">Minnesota House and her husband and wounding a state senator and his wife, appears at federal court in Minneapolis on Aug. 7, 2025. (Cedric Hohnstadt via AP, File) 1 of 2 | A photo of Mark and Melissa Hortman is displayed during their funeral service inside the sanctuary at the Basilica of St. Mary’s in Minneapolis on June 28, 2025. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP, Pool, File) 1 of 2 A photo of Mark and Melissa Hortman is displayed during their funeral service inside the sanctuary at the Basilica of St. Mary’s in Minneapolis on June 28, 2025. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP, Pool, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 2 | This courtroom sketch shows Vance Boelter, who is charged with killing the top Democrat in the Minnesota-house" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="144058" data-entity-type="organization">Minnesota House and her husband and wounding a state senator and his wife, appears at federal court in Minneapolis on Aug. 7, 2025. (Cedric Hohnstadt via AP, File) 2 of 2 This courtroom sketch shows Vance Boelter, who is charged with killing the top Democrat in the Minnesota-house" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="144058" data-entity-type="organization">Minnesota House and her husband and wounding a state senator and his wife, appears at federal court in Minneapolis on Aug. 7, 2025. (Cedric Hohnstadt via AP, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday they will not seek the death penalty as part of a plea agreement with the man charged in the political assassinations of the top Democrat in the Minnesota-house" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="144058" data-entity-type="organization">Minnesota House along with her husband, as well as the attempted murders of a state senator and his wife.The defendant, Vance Boelter, was scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing Thursday morning in federal court in Minneapolis.“The Attorney General has authorized and directed the government not to seek the death penalty against Defendant Vance Luther Boelter in accordance with the terms delineated in a proposed plea agreement,” assistant U.S. attorneys Bradley M. Endicott and Matthew D. Forbes wrote in a letter to the court Wednesday.Boelter’s attorneys did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The court filing did not detail the terms of the plea agreement. Former Minnesota-house" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="144058" data-entity-type="organization">Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were shot by a man who came to their doors in the early hours of June 14, 2025, disguised as a police officer and driving a fake squad car. The Hortmans’ golden retriever was so gravely injured that he had to be euthanized.