MAGA 'Hit-Squad' Fears Explode As Cops Launch Probe Into Theory Minnesota Assassin Is Only Part of 'Broader Network'
Vance Boelter was arrested and charged on Sunday night after the shootings.
June 17 2025, Published 5:45 p.m. ET
Just days after the deadly Democrat bloodbath in Minnesota, authorities have not "ruled out the possibility the suspected assassin is part of a broader network."
RadarOnline.com can reveal the suspect Vance Boelter was arrested and charged on Sunday night after killing Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and injuring Democratic State Senator John Hoffman.
Did He Act Alone?
Police believe the two Democrats were targeted.
On Sunday night, Drew Evans, superintendent of Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, revealed how authorities are exploring the possibility the suspect may not have acted alone in the killings.
During a press conference, a reporter asked if he had any "concerns" regarding "other people out there that could have been working with him."
Evans replied: "We will fully explore that. I've said on this that we are relatively confident—we are confident—that the violence that he committed and the murders he committed and the attempted murders...that he conducted that activity alone.
"We will be exploring if there are any broader network. We have not uncovered any of that at this time, but that will be part of our investigation. We will fully explore that."
At the same press conference, State Governor Tim Walz said the attack "appears to be a politically motivated (attempted) assassination."
The Capture
There was an active manhunt for the suspected shooter over the weekend.
Only two days after the bloody attacks, Boetler was arrested late Sunday night after the suspect was seen passing a trail camera in a rural town in Sibley County, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said: "Most of the search had concluded then. But the trail cam picture alerted SWAT teams to go to the area, search a perimeter and with the help of drones, identify his location."
For about an hour, Boelter reportedly attempted to avoid being arrested, but SWAT teams crawled in ditches to completely enclose him, and then he "eventually surrendered peaceably."
Following his arrest, police described the chilling incident as the "largest manhunt" in the state's history.
The Attacks
DFL Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman were shot.
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Early Saturday morning, Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed in her own home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Boelter posed as a police officer when he carried out the deadly shootings.
Just eight miles away, fellow DFL member Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were also attacked.
Yvette stated she was shot eight times, while her husband was shot nine times, before she added: "We are both incredibly lucky to be alive."
She also said they have been left "gutted and devastated" by the deaths of Melissa and Mark Hortman and added: "There is never a place for this kind of political hate."
While authorities have already suggested the attacks were "targeted," they also suspect Boelter was motivated to kill the two Democrats because they support abortion rights after police discovered a "hit list" of about 70 people in his car.
The list allegedly included a handful of Democrats and other political figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement, according to CNN.
