Vance Boelter's letter to FBI claims he needed to kill Sen. Klobuchar for Gov. Walz, sources say

Jeff Day, Ryan Faircloth and Jeffrey Meitrodt, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jun 20, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MINNEAPOLIS — In a rambling, conspiratorial letter addressed to the FBI, alleged assassin Vance Boelter claimed he needed to kill U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar so that Gov. Tim Walz could run for the U.S. Senate, according to two people familiar with the contents of the letter.

The letter is the clearest evidence yet of Boelter’s mindset after the targeted violence against Minnesota politicians last week. It is incoherent, one and a half pages long, confusing and hard to read, according to two people familiar with the letter’s contents. It includes Boelter alleging he had been trained by the U.S. military off the books, and that Walz, who is not running for Senate, had asked him to kill Klobuchar and others.

Walz’s spokesman, Teddy Tschann, said in a statement Friday afternoon that “this tragedy continues to be deeply disturbing for all Minnesotans.”

“Governor Walz is grateful to law enforcement who apprehended the shooter, and he’s grateful to the prosecutors who will ensure justice is swiftly served,” Tschann said.

Klobuchar couldn’t immediately be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

She was not the only other politician named; the letter included a seeming reference to U.S. Sen. Tina Smith.

Federal prosecutors allege the letter also contained Boelter’s confession that he carried out the shootings that killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and injured state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, Minnesota, stands charged in U.S. District Court with two counts of stalking Rep. Hortman and Sen. Hoffman using interstate facilities; two counts of murder for Melissa and Mark Hortman; and two counts of using a firearm to shoot the Hortmans and Hoffmans.

He also is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in Hennepin County District Court. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has said her office will seek first-degree murder charges against Boelter.

_____