A Minnesota man charged with the political assassinations of the state's top Democratic lawmaker and her husband is scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday to change his not-guilty plea, following federal prosecutors' announcement they will not seek the death penalty.

The U.S. attorney's office in Minneapolis notified the court Wednesday that the Justice Department would not pursue capital punishment against Vance Boelter, 58, in accordance with a proposed plea agreement. The court filing did not detail the terms of the agreement.

Boelter is charged in the June 14, 2025 shootings of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, as well as state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman. Prosecutors say Boelter disguised himself as a police officer and used a fake squad car when he approached their homes in the early morning hours. The Hortmans died from their injuries, while the Hoffmans survived. The Hortmans' golden retriever was so severely injured it had to be euthanized.

Boelter was captured near his home in rural Green Isle the day after the shootings, following what prosecutors described as the largest search for a suspect in Minnesota history. He faces both federal and state charges for murder, attempted murder and other offenses.

When federal prosecutors announced the indictment in July, they released a handwritten letter they say Boelter wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel confessing to the attacks. The letter did not clearly explain his motives, though Boelter had referenced a vague "investigation" he claimed to be conducting, sometimes mentioning the COVID-19 vaccine. Friends described him as an evangelical Christian and occasional preacher who held conservative political views and had been struggling to find employment.

John Hoffman filed a lawsuit in April stating his left arm and hand would likely never fully recover, and that he sustained permanent injuries to his digestive and urinary systems. The lawsuit said Yvette Hoffman was left with permanent physical weakness, while their daughter Hope, who called 911 but was not shot, suffered severe psychological trauma. Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911 and has never had a federal death penalty case.