Vance Boelter's Letter Claims Tim Walz Ordered Assassination

In a rambling, conspiratorial letter addressed to the FBI, alleged assassin Vance Boelter claimed Gov. Tim Walz instructed him to kill U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar so that 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.

Asked to comment about the letter, Hennepin County Attorney spokesperson Daniel Borgertpoepping said the office cannot comment on an open investigation but “due to the seriousness of the allegations it contains, we will state only that we have seen no evidence that the allegations regarding Governor Walz are based in fact.”

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 said in a statement Friday that, “Boelter is a very dangerous man and I am deeply grateful that law enforcement got him behind bars before he killed other people.”

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 was left behind in a Buick that Boelter deserted near his home in Green Isle, Minn. It also allegedly contained Boelter’s confession that he carried out the shootings that killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and injured Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

Boelter, 57, 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.

Vance claimed he was licensed to carry a weapon in 2019 and the license was renewed in 2020 when he was still involved with his family’s private security firm, according to documents the Minnesota Star Tribune obtained from the Minnesota Private Detective & Protective Agent Services Board.

Along with his federal charges, Boelter 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.