Vance Boelter, the man accused of killing DFL House leader Melissa Hortman and her husband and shooting and injuring DFL Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, voted in the March 2024 Minnesota Republican presidential primary, belying online disinformation that has sought to paint Boelter as a leftist with ties to Gov. Tim Walz.
The Reformer obtained a screenshot of Boelter’s voter profile in the GOP Data Center — a national database with voter registration information used to target voters — from a source with access to it, which confirms other reporting about Boelter’s support for President Donald Trump.
Boelter, 57, was captured Sunday evening by state and federal agents in Green Isle, about an hour west of the Twin Cities, following a 43-hour manhunt. He’s facing several state and federal charges for the murders of the Hortmans, the shootings of John and Yvette Hoffman and other related crimes.
Disinformation has circulated online since authorities released Boelter’s name, attempting to cast him as a disgruntled leftist and agent of Walz even as Boelter’s roommate and longtime friend told reporters that he was a Trump supporter in 2024.
The Minnesota DFL Party on Sunday released data to the Star Tribune that Boelter voted in the 2024 presidential primary, but not as a Democrat. The Reformer confirmed the data. Boelter’s precinct, Washington Lake Township in Sibley County, had 100 voters in that primary, according to public voter rolls.
Aside from the DFL, the other two Minnesota presidential primaries were the Republican primary and the Legal Marijuana Now primary. No one in Boelter’s precinct voted for any of the Legal Marijuana Now candidates or submitted a Legal Marijuana Now write-in.
In a statement, Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party Chair Dennis Schuller confirmed Boelter did not vote in the 2024 Legal Marijuana Now presidential primary.
By process of elimination, that also points to Boelter voting in the GOP presidential primary.
A text to a Minnesota GOP spokesman was not immediately returned.
Right-wing influencers, including Dan Cernovich and Lara Loomer, who are important MAGA propagandists, have been speculating that Walz is connected to Boelter because he was appointed to the Workforce Development Board by Walz’s predecessor, Gov. Mark Dayton, and reappointed by Walz.
Minnesota state government is home to hundreds of nonpartisan and bipartisan boards and commissions, comprising thousands of appointees. Typically, simply volunteering is enough to earn an appointment. There are currently more than 300 vacancies on state boards and commissions.
Charging documents allege Boelter had a list of potential targets, which included Hortman and other Democratic elected officials from Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Boelter is a Christian who strongly opposes abortion, according to interviews with Boelter’s roommate and videos of his sermons posted online.
In recordings of sermons Boelter delivered in Matadi, a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he railed against abortion and LGBTQ people.