Former U.S. Assistant Attorney Andy McCarthy said on Monday that the suspect in the deadly shooting of a state lawmaker in Minnesota will most likely face first-degree murder charges.
Authorities arrested Vance Luther Boelter in a wooded area on Sunday for the fatal shootings of Democrat Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and for injuring Democratic Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. While Boelter awaits charges, McCarthy stated on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” that he anticipates a Minnesota grand jury will bring first-degree murder charges against him.
READ: Suspect Vance Boelter Apprehended In Targeted Attacks On Minnesota Lawmakers
“Well there’s a rule in Minnesota that if you were going to bring charges that carry a potential penalty of life imprisonment, that has to be brought by a grand jury indictment,” McCarthy said. “Obviously because this manhunt that was just described took place over the weekend and this guy hasn’t even been in court yet, they haven’t had time to do a grand jury proceeding. So I anticipate in a couple of weeks time, when you get a grand jury indictment, you’ll have first-degree murder charges in addition to an array of other charges.”
“For now, they’ve brought him in on the most serious charges they can bring, including second-degree murder, because they want to be able to hold him in detention pending both [the] grand jury indictment and trial,” McCarthy continued.
Police have alleged that Boelter posed as a policeman when he arrived at Hortman and Hoffman’s homes early Saturday morning. Authorities found a police car with flashing lights out in front of Hortman’s house when they arrived at the scene, where they ultimately encountered the suspect and engaged in a firefight with him.
READ: Minnesota In Mourning: Sen. Klobuchar Honors Slain Colleague Amid Shocking Assassination
After Boelter got away, authorities conducted a manhunt on Saturday to locate and arrest the suspect. Police recovered a manifesto from a vehicle outside of Hortman’s home with a list of over 70 political figures he planned to target, which included the deceased victim, Democrat Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
Former FBI special agent Dan Brunner said during the same segment on “America’s Newsroom” that the manifesto proves that Boelter has a “mission” to target individuals based on his political ideology. Authorities stated that they found a pile of “No Kings” fliers, a wide-scale protest opposing President Donald Trump, in Boelter’s vehicle, prompting them to recommend that people not attend the protests to ensure their own safety.
Walz labeled the killings of the Hortmans as a “politically-motivated assassination,” and Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Saturday that violence will “not be tolerated.”
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
