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- Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman, husband and dog to lie in state as suspected killer is in court</p>
<p>Matt LavietesJune 27, 2025 at 11:00 PM</p>
<p>Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. (Minnesota House DFL Caucus)</p>
<p>Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman will lie in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda on Friday as her suspected killer is scheduled to appear in court.</p>
<p>Hortman and her husband were killed in what authorities described as a "politically motivated assassination" at their Brooklyn Park home on June 14. Hortman, a Democrat, will be the first woman to receive the honor in the state's Capitol building. She and her husband will be lying with their golden retriever Gilbert, who was wounded in the attack before being euthanized.</p>
<p>They will be on display to the public in the Capitol rotunda Friday afternoon, where thousands are expected to attend and pay their respects.</p>
<p>About an hour before the Hortmans will receive the rare honor, the man who was charged in connection with their killings, Vance Boelter, 57, will appear in court. A judge will determine if he will be allowed bail before trial.</p>
<p>In addition to the Hortmans' slayings, Boelter was also charged in connection with a nearby shooting that wounded Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, that day. The pair were shot multiple times and hospitalized, but survived the encounter.</p>
<p>Boelter has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of second-degree intentional murder and attempted murder. He is being represented by a public defender, lawyers who do not issue statements or comment on pending cases to the media.</p>
<p>Authorities said that Boelter impersonated law enforcement in order to gain access to the lawmakers' homes. He wore a vest, a blue long-sleeve shirt and what appeared to be a badge on the day of the shootings, according to officials.</p>
<p>Boelter was found two days after the shootings, armed and crawling in a field in a sparsely populated stretch of Minnesota, according to officials</p>
<p>The manhunt was the largest in state history, with nearly 200 law enforcement officers, including members of 20 regional and local SWAT teams, deployed in eastern Sibley County, about an hour outside Minneapolis, according to officials.</p>
<p>Officials said they found a notebook that belonged to Boelter with a hit list of other politicians, particularly those who have vocally supported abortion. The list included politicians from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa, according to authorities.</p>
<p>Boelter's wife spoke out for the first time since the shootings on Thursday, calling the attack "a betrayal." In a statement issued through her attorneys, she said that she and her children wanted to express their "deepest sympathies" to the Hortman and Hoffman families.</p>
<p>"We are absolutely shocked, heartbroken and completely blindsided," she said. "This violence does not at all align with our beliefs as a family. It is a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenets of our Christian Faith. We are appalled and horrified by what occurred, and our hearts are incredibly heavy for the victims of the unfathomable tragedy."</p>
<p>The Hortmans' adult children, Sophie and Colin Hortman, said in a statement that they are "devastated" by the loss of their parents.</p>
<p>"They were the bright lights at the center of our lives, and we can't believe they are gone," the pair said. "Their love for us was boundless. We miss them so much."</p>
Source: AOL General News
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