Minnesota man who killed Democratic lawmaker sentenced to life in US prison

Judge says that long sentence is merited for slaying of state Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.A man who pleaded guilty to assassinating a top Democratic lawmaker in the state of Minnesota has been sentenced to two life terms plus 40 years in prison, in a case that underscored growing concerns over political violence in the United States.Vance Boelter, who pleaded guilty in June to the slaying of House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, was sentenced on Thursday. The 59-year-old also seriously wounded state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in the attacks in June of last year.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Man pleads guilty to slaying top Democrat and her husband in Minnesotalist 2 of 3Suspect in Minnesota lawmakers shooting, Vance Boelter, capturedlist 3 of 3How US senator falsely claimed Minnesota shooting suspect was ‘Marxist’end of listVictims and their friends and family shared how the Minneapolis-area attacks, which targeted several state Democratic officials, changed their lives in emotional comments on Thursday.“The defendant looked me in the eyes and pulled the trigger. The defendant looked at my wife and chose to do the same,” Hoffman said in the courtroom. “My wife and I now live with injuries. We live with our bodies remembering the gunfire.”US District Judge John R Tunheim said that the sentence was the longest he has ever imposed in thousands of cases, but that he believes “it is deserved”.Boelter stated that he spent months identifying and stalking his planned targets. He then drove to their homes disguised as a police officer to carry out the attacks, which were followed by the largest police search in the Midwestern state’s history.“I could not fathom why I was spared and [Hortman] was not,” said Democratic State Representative Kristin Bahner, who was on vacation when the attacker went to her home. “You failed because I carry her with me. In my mind and in my heart, she guides me.”