MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The man charged with killing a prominent Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another could face something that is a rarity for Minnesota but could become more common under the Trump administration: the death penalty.

Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911, and the state’s last execution was a botched hanging in 1906. But federal prosecutors announced charges against Vance Boelter on Monday that can carry the death penalty.

It’s not unheard of for state and federal prosecutors to both pursue criminal cases for the same offense, especially in high-profile matters.

In this case federal authorities essentially grabbed the lead from the state prosecutor, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. Boelter had been scheduled to make his first court appearance on state charges Monday, but instead marshals took him from the county jail to the U.S. courthouse in St. Paul, where he appeared on the more serious federal charges.

Boelter is accused of fatally shooting former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs. Before that, authorities say, he also shot and wounded another Democrat, Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, who lived a few miles away. He surrendered Sunday night after what authorities have called the largest search in Minnesota history.

The federal case

Two of the six federal counts can carry the death penalty, something federal prosecutors have not sought in a Minnesota-based case since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976.

“Will we seek the death penalty? It’s too early to tell. That is one of the options,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said Monday at a news conference where he revealed new details of what he described as a meticulously planned attack. They included allegations that Boelter also stopped at the homes of two other lawmakers that night and had dozens of other Democrats as potential targets, including officials in other states.

Boelter’s federal defenders have declined to comment on the case, and he has not entered a plea.

On her first day in office in February, Attorney General Pam Bondi lifted a moratorium on federal executions that was imposed under the Biden administration in 2021. Only three defendants remain on federal death row after Biden converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison.

Bondi has since authorized federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in at least three cases, including against Luigi Mangione for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. In the other two cases, the Justice Department has said it is seeking the death penalty against defendants charged with killing fellow prison inmates.

President Donald Trump’s first administration carried out 13 federal executions, more than the administration of any other president in modern history.

The state’s case

The federal intervention in Boelter’s case appeared to irritate Moriarty, the county’s former chief public defender, who was elected on a police reform and racial justice platform in 2022 after the police killing of George Floyd.

At a news conference Monday to announce the state charges, Moriarty gave only vague answers in response to questions about the interplay between the federal and state investigations. But she acknowledged “there’s a tension” and said federal officials “can speak for themselves.”

Moriarty said she intends to press forward in state court regardless and to seek an indictment for first-degree murder for the killings of the Hortmans, which would carry a mandatory sentence of life without parole. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment Tuesday.

As evidence of the tensions, the county attorney refused to clarify how Boelter’ first hearings would play out. Court records show that Boelter was called for a first appearance in Hennepin County on Monday and that because he was not there as he was in federal custody, the judge issued a bench warrant as a formality, as requested by prosecutors.

“Usually murder cases are overwhelmingly handled in state courts,” said Mark Osler, a death penalty expert at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. “Clearly this is something of national interest. And that seemed to play a role in the decision that the Justice Department is making here.”

Osler, who formerly served as Moriarty’s deputy county attorney and head of her criminal division, as well as assistant U.S. attorney in Detroit, acknowledged that there are often tensions between state and federal prosecutors.

“There’s no doubt that it’s complicated,” Osler said. “And it’s hard to avoid the sense of the older sibling grabbing something away from the younger sibling.”

What’s next

If federal officials do pursue the death penalty, Osler said, they will face an unusual challenge: “a jury pool drawn from the citizens of a state that has rejected the death penalty for over 100 years. It’s not the same as choosing people in a state where there’s a history of support for the death penalty, such as Texas.”

After his federal court appearance, Boelter was taken to the Sherburne County Jail in suburban Elk River, where federal prisoners are often held.

Thompson told reporters that the federal case “does not nullify the state charges. They remain in place. … My expectation based on prior cases is the federal case, the federal charges, will be litigated first, but the state charges won’t necessarily go anywhere.”

Boelter’s next federal court appearance is June 27. He does not have any further appearances scheduled in state court.

“There’s a natural competitiveness that occurs sometimes between jurisdictions, but you have to hope that in the end, they’re all facing the same way where there’s something as important to public safety as this case is,” Osler said.

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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed.

Police interaction with alleged Minnesota lawmaker shooter Vance Boelter likely prevented the loss of more lives, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said on Monday.

Bruley said an off-duty sergeant had heard that there was a shooting at Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman’s home and sent two officers to check on the home of Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman.

When officers arrived, Bruley said they found Boelter’s car in the driveway. 

“Had they not foiled the plan, you know, essentially took his vehicle away from him, which involved all his maps, all his names, all his weaponry. I would be very scared what it would look like over the next few hours that had we not done that,” he said during a media conference where federal charges were announced against Boelter. 

FAKE COP SUSPECTED IN LAWMAKER ASSASSINATION HAD EXTENSIVE SECURITY TRAINING BEFORE ‘TARGETED’ ATTACK

Federal prosecutors released images they said were from Minnesota lawmaker shooting suspect Vance Boelter’s notebooks in a criminal complaint on June 16, 2025. (Department of Justice)

Boelter allegedly fled on foot, prompting a two-days-long manhunt that ended with him being taken into custody without incident. 

Boelter is accused of killing Hortman and her husband Mark, and shooting Hoffman and his wife Yvette in separate incidents early Saturday morning. 

Boelter allegedly arrived at both lawmakers’ homes dressed in a law enforcement-like uniform and driving a black SUV with flashing emergency lights and a license plate that read “police.” 

MINNESOTA SHOOTING SUSPECT VANCE BOELTER TO FACE FEDERAL CHARGES IN LAWMAKER ATTACKS

Vance Boelter allegedly wore a “hyper-realistic” silicon mask while targeting victims on Saturday. (DOJ)

He is charged with two counts of stalking, two counts of murder and two counts of firearm-related crimes in federal court.

In addition to the federal charges, Boelter is facing second-degree murder charges filed in Hennepin County.

A mugshot of Minnesota lawmaker shooting suspect Vance Boelter in custody at Hennepin County Jail. (Hennepin County Jail)

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office on Monday announced that it intends to file first-degree murder charges against the suspect.

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Brooklyn Park Police did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. 

Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita, Audrey Conklin, Peter D’Abrosca and Sarah Rumf-Whitten contributed to this report.

After spending the weekend on lockdown to protect against a gunman who shot two Democratic Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses, one couple fatally, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she has words for Utah Sen. Mike Lee and his reaction to the killings.

“I have condemned what Mike Lee did here at home, and I will speak to him about this when I return,” the Minnesota Democrat said during a Monday morning interview on MSNBC. “And what I’m going to tell him is: This isn’t funny, what happened here.”

From his personal account on the platform X, Lee spread unfounded claims about the alleged gunman across multiple posts, making light of the killings and attempting to blame the violence on the political left. One post, however, sparked immediate criticism from both sides of the aisle.

Sunday, over 30 hours into a manhunt, Lee was making posts that falsely tied the slayings to Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who was his party’s nominee for vice president last year. Numerous onlookers characterized Lee’s tone as mocking.

With a purported image of the alleged shooter in a mask on a doorstep that was circulated by law enforcement, Lee posted, “Nightmare on Waltz [sic] Street.” As of Monday afternoon, the remarks have been shared over 3,400 times and liked by over 16,000 accounts.

“This was an incredible woman, her husband, her two kids — yesterday on Father’s Day, there was no Father’s Day for them,” Klobuchar said. “They lost both their parents.”

Klobuchar continued, “So that’s what I’m going to tell Sen. Lee when I get back to Washington today, because this is not a laughing matter, and certainly what we’re seeing is an increase in violence, and this evil man who did this — this is not a joke.”

In a scathing letter to Lee’s staff Monday, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith’s deputy chief of staff, Ed Shelleby said Lee had “exploited the murder of a lifetime public servant and her husband to post some sick burns about Democrats.”

“Did you see this as an excellent opportunity to get likes and retweet[s]?,” Shelleby asked. “Have you absolutely no conscience? No decency?”

“She was a force. And a human being,” Shelleby concluded his email. “And I beg of you to exercise some restraint on social media as we continue to grieve.”

Monday afternoon, Semafor reporter Eleanor Mueller posted a photo of Smith speaking with Lee for a few minutes after pulling him out of a members-only briefing on the Senate floor. Asked what she told Lee, Smith said, “Let me just gather myself,” and hurried back onto the floor.

Multiple Republican state lawmakers in Minnesota also criticized Lee’s apparent jest in their own social media posts.

Minnesota state GOP Rep. Walter Hudson said, “This has nothing to do with Governor Walz.” Another Republican, Rep. Nolan West, wrote, “I have tremendous respect for Senator Mike Lee, but it doesn’t mean he is immune from the base impulses social media incentivizes. People say stupid stuff on the internet all the time. The best they can do is admit they shouldn’t have and be better.”

In an interview with a local TV station, Smith said she was on a list of the alleged shooter’s targets, along with other elected officials. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Saturday that he asked Capitol Police to increase security for both of Minnesota’s senators.

Despite claims like those Lee amplified that Minnesota’s governor had close ties to the suspected shooter, Vance Boelter, Walz’s staff say the governor did not know the alleged shooter. His office merely reappointed Boelter to a bipartisan advisory board in 2019.

Boelter, who was arrested Sunday, had a list of prominent Minnesota Democrats who supported abortion rights as well as abortion providers, according to authorities, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. They also indicated Boelter had strong anti-abortion views.

He also had flyers for “No Kings” protests of President Donald Trump, authorities said. The Minnesota protests were canceled.

His roommate and friend, David Carlson, told reporters Sunday that Boelter had become a born-again Christian and would preach in the park. He didn’t like Democratic figures like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and former President Joe Biden, but Carlson said his friend didn’t have extremist views.

Carlson also said Boelter voted for Trump in November.

Police say former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed in their home in a Minneapolis suburb early Saturday morning by a man impersonating a police officer

Earlier that night, Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were shot and wounded in their home.

Lee’s office did not respond to an inquiry regarding what evidence the senator has to back up his claims, nor about his reasoning for posting such statements.

Utah Democratic Party Chair Brian King said that “Sadly, this is what we’ve come to expect from Mike Lee — detached from reality and fully aligned with extremist politics. I would love to see him committed to facts and reason to serve Utahns, but he left that world a long time ago.”

@basedmikelee’s posts vs. Sen. Lee’s post

In Lee’s first post about the shooting after the news broke, the senator wrote from his personal @BasedMikeLee account on X, “My guess: He’s not MAGA.”

He did not condemn the violence for more than 24 hours after his initial post, eventually sharing a statement on his official U.S. Senate account — not his personal account.

Lee is a prolific user of the platform X, frequently using his @BasedMikeLee account to attack his political enemies and spread false or misleading information, and has averaged more than 100 posts a day on the platform over the last several months.

His following on X has steadily grown, recently surpassing 600,000 followers, up from 453,000 at the start of the year.

On Saturday afternoon, a few hours after Lee’s initial comments, his Utah colleague in the Senate, Sen. John Curtis wrote on X, “I’m deeply disturbed by the targeted attacks on lawmakers in Minnesota. There is no justification — ever — for political violence.”

He added, at the end of the post, “Moments like this demand that we rise above division and recommit to respectful discourse.”

Later that evening, Lee continued posting his assumptions about the Minnesota shooter. The senior member of Utah’s federal delegation quoted a post containing misleading information about the identity of a man who allegedly attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, and Boelter.

An original post said, “The left … kills a MN state rep and her husband and injures a Senator and his wife. The left has become a full blown domestic terrorist organization.” Sharing the post with his followers, Lee commented, “Marxism kills. Americans must reject it — always.”

About 45 minutes later, the senator shared two posts from the right-wing “Libs of TikTok” account — the first a video of ralliers running after a shooting at an anti-Trump protest in Utah. “Make it stop. Condemn all political violence,” Lee said. One person has died as a result of the shooting.

The second post included limited information about Boelter, reading, “So a Tim Walz appointee with ‘No Kings’ flyers in his car went on a shooting spree today and murdered and injured lawmakers?? Holy shit.”

“Marxism is a deadly mental illness,” Lee added.

On Sunday morning, Lee continued spreading claims that the Minnesota shooter was a Marxist. At 8:50 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time, Lee posted the image of Boelter in a mask, writing, “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.”

Less than half an hour later, Lee shared the same image, saying “Nightmare on Waltz [sic] Street,” referring to Walz, the state’s governor and the former vice presidential candidate.

He also declared from his social account Sunday morning that “America’s under attack from within,” alongside a Libs of TikTok video of Portland protesters damaging a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon — about 25 hours and 36 minutes after Lee began posting about the shooting on his personal account and the day following another deadly shooting in Salt Lake City — that his official account made a statement denouncing the political violence.

“These hateful attacks have no place in Utah, Minnesota, or anywhere in America,” the post from @SenMikeLee read. “Please join me in condemning this senseless violence, and praying for the victims and their families.”

That, however, was not Lee’s last post on the matter.

Hours after Klobuchar’s interview, Lee shared comments from Elon Musk — the world’s richest man, who previously worked closely with the White House — in which he echoed false claims of “the left” being responsible for the Minnesota shootings. “The far left is murderously violent,” Musk said.

Lee added, “Fact check: TRUE.”

This story is developing and may be updated.