Vance Boelter pleaded not guilty to charges related to the Minnesota lawmaker shootings during an arraignment in federal court.

Minnesota

Vance Boelter appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, stalking, and firearms offenses following the shooting of Minnesota lawmakers Melissa and Mark Hortman, and John and Yvette Hoffman. The incident, described by prosecutors as a politically motivated assassination plot, resulted in the deaths of the Hortmans and serious injuries to the Hoffmans. 

The arraignment was moved up after prosecutors requested the case be marked as complex, citing a substantial amount of evidence to review. The government has appointed experienced public defenders in anticipation of a possible death penalty case, though no decision has been made on whether to pursue capital punishment. The next court appearance is scheduled, with both sides preparing for an extensive pre-trial process.

Vance Boelter pleads not guilty in federal court

Thanks so much for joining us here for the Fox 9 Morning News at 11 and on Fox Local on this Thursday. I'm Tom Butler. The man charged with gunning down two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses went before a judge in federal court this morning. Our Bill Keller is live. He was there during all of this and joins us with the latest on the Vance Belter case. Bill, good morning to you. Prosecutors have called a night of terror. Tom, if you can hear me, within just the last hour the man charged with carrying out a politically motivated assassination plot was arraigned for what federal prosecutors describe as a night of terror that shook Minnesota to its core. Now, wearing jailed issued clothing, Vance Belter pleaded not guilty in his federal murder case and today's arraignment was actually moved up five weeks after prosecutors asked that the case be marked as complex. Now, that's a request the judge granted without any objection from Belter's defense team. The government asking for an additional six months to prepare for trial, telling the judge they have a mountain of evidence to go through. We're talking about tens of thousands of documents and more than 1,700 media files, including hours of video. Today's hearing comes three weeks after the now 58-year-old was indicted on six counts, including murder, stalking and firearms charges for the shooting of Melissa and Mark Hortman, along with John and Yvette Hoffman. At this morning's arraignment, Belter waived the reading of the charges against him before entering that not guilty plea. The Hortmans, you recall, were killed in the early morning hours. That was back on June 14th. The Hoffmans, both recovering from serious gunshot wounds after being shot numerous times, officers said they actually confronted Belter outside Hortman's Brooklyn Park home, forcing him to flee on foot. He had to abandon his vehicle. That led to a two-day-long manhunt, said to be the longest, the largest in state history. Now, what we have not heard is if federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty in this case, with the judge setting no timeline for that decision. Now, even though Minnesota abolished capital punishment over a century ago, the two federal murder charges could result in a death sentence. In fact, to prepare for that very possibility, the U.S. government has already appointed two public defenders from Nevada with experience covering death penalty cases. Tom, in addition to entering a not guilty plea at this morning's hearing, the defense waived its right to a speedy trial as the judge really set a series of deadlines for filings of motions and responses. The bottom line, the next court appearance set for November 25th. Back to you. All right, Bill Keller with the latest on the Belter case. Thanks so much, Bill.

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