As the search continues for the man accused of impersonating a police officer and killing State Rep. Melissa Hortman and wounding State Sen. John Hoffman, a clearer portrait of the suspect is emerging.
Here’s what we’ve learned about Vance Boelter:
• He worked for a security company, Praetorian Guard Security Services, that advertised a fleet of “police type vehicles,” and other equipment that could potentially have aided him in appearing to be law enforcement.
• He is an outspoken evangelical Christian who traveled to Africa to tell his faith story and, in at least one sermon, pointedly questioned American morals on sexual orientation, according to videos and social media posts reviewed by CNN.
• Names on a list found in his car, which CNN obtained, are largely Democrats or figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement. The list included prominent lawmakers like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Tina Smith as well as Planned Parenthood leaders.
• He largely shied away from political posts in his publicly available social media feeds and did not discuss abortion rights in any religious speeches reviewed by CNN. In one talk he gave in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023, he appeared sharply critical of LGBTQ rights.
• He served on a state board with Hoffman, records show. In 2019, Gov. Tim Walz put Boelter on the Governor’s Workforce Development Board – a group of business owners who recommend policies to the state government. It’s unclear how closely Boelter and Hoffman interacted in that role, if at all.
• Boelter registered to vote as a Republican in the early 2000s, state records show. A state document that listed his 2019 appointment to a development board noted he had “no party preference.”
• A search of Minnesota criminal records showed no cases against Boelter aside from some traffic charges.
• Boelter’s LinkedIn page claims he had a doctorate in educational leadership and a masters of science in management, both from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, and he used the prefix Dr. on his website and social media.
• Social media posts indicate he has multiple children.
• Boelter had a property outside the small town of Green Isle, about 50 miles west of Minneapolis, according to records.
Read more about the suspect here.
CNN’s Isabelle Chapman, Curt Devine, Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Anna-Maja Rappard, Scott Glover, John Miller and Rob Kuznia contributed to this report.