What is known about Vance Boelter so far?

NEW YORK AP Vance Boelter the man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held deeply religious and politically conservative views telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U S was in a bad place where majority churches didn t oppose abortion Vance Luther Boelter was captured late Sunday following a two-day search personnel described as the largest in the state s history Boelter is accused of impersonating a police officer and gunning down former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their home outside Minneapolis Democratic Gov Tim Walz described the shooting as a politically motivated assassination Sen John Hoffman also a Democrat and his wife Yvette were shot earlier by the same gunman at their home nearby but survived Related Her mirthful eyes her sharp humor Colleagues remember Melissa Hortman assassinated at age Friends and former colleagues interviewed by AP described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in before moving to Minnesota where voters don t list party affiliation Near the scene at Hortman s home executives say they discovered an SUV made to look like those used by law enforcement Inside they determined fliers for a local anti-Trump No Kings rally scheduled for Saturday and a notebook with names of other lawmakers The list also included the names of abortion rights advocates and medical care executives according to two law enforcement functionaries who could not discuss details of the ongoing assessment and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity Related Sen Tina Smith contemplates increased guard after shooting of Democratic lawmakers Both Hortman and Hoffman were defenders of abortion rights at the state legislature Boelter not maintained to have made any masses threats before attacks official says Drew Evans superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension declared at a briefing on Sunday that Boelter is not inferred to have made any residents threats before the attacks Evans questioned the society not to speculate on a motivation for the attacks We often want easy answers for complex problems he recounted reporters Those answers will come as we complete the full picture of our probe Friends informed the AP that they knew Boelter was religious and conservative but that he didn t talk about politics often and didn t seem extreme He was right-leaning politically but never fanatical from what I saw just strong beliefs disclosed Paul Schroeder who has known Boelter for years A glimpse of Boelter s beliefs on abortion during a trip to Africa Boelter who worked as a measure contractor gave a glimpse of his beliefs on abortion during a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in While there Boelter served as an evangelical pastor telling people he had first ascertained Jesus as a teenager The churches are so messed up they don t know abortion is wrong in numerous churches he mentioned according to an online recording of one sermon from February Still in three lengthy sermons reviewed by the AP he only mentioned abortion once focusing more on his love of God and what he saw as the moral decay in his native country He appears to have hidden his more strident beliefs from his friends back home He never talked to me about abortion Schroeder noted It seemed to be just that he was a conservative Republican who naturally followed Trump The church Boelter attended outside Minneapolis issued a report Sunday condemning the shootings as the opposite of what Jesus taught his followers to do This happening has devastated our church family and does not reflect our values or beliefs the Jordan Family Church announced on its website adding it was cooperating with law enforcement Seeking to reinvent himself A married father with five children Boelter and his wife own a sprawling -square-foot house on a large rural lot about an hour from downtown Minneapolis that the couple bought in for more than a half-million dollars He worked for decades in managerial roles for food and beverage manufacturers before seeking to reinvent himself in middle age according to resumes and a video he posted online After getting an undergraduate degree in international relations in his s Boelter went back to school and earned a master s degree and then a doctorate in leadership studies in from Cardinal Stritch University a private Catholic college in Wisconsin that has since shut down While living in Wisconsin records show Boelter and his wife Jenny founded a nonprofit corporation called Revoformation Ministries listing themselves as the president and secretary After moving to Minnesota about a decade ago Boelter volunteered for a position on a state workforce advancement board first appointed by then-Gov Mark Dayton a Democrat in and later by Democratic Gov Tim Walz He served through In that position he may have crossed paths with one of his alleged casualties Hoffman served on the same board though officials reported it was not straightaway clear how much the two men may have interacted Launching a guard firm Records show Boelter and his wife started a safety firm in A website for Praetorian Guard Safety Services lists Boelter s wife as the president and CEO while he is listed as the director of prevention patrols The company s homepage says it provides armed safety for property and events and features a photo of an SUV painted in a two-tone black and silver pattern similar to a police conveyance with a light bar across the roof and Praetorian painted across the doors Another photo shows a man in black tactical gear with a military-style helmet and a ballistic vest with the company s name across the front In an online resume Boelter also billed himself as a precaution contractor who worked oversees in the Middle East and Africa On his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo he explained Chris Fuller a friend that he had founded several companies focused on farming and fishing on the Congo River as well as in transportation and tractor sales It has been a very fun and rewarding experience and I only wished I had done something like this years ago he wrote in a message shared with the AP But once he returned home in there were signs that Boelter was struggling financially That August he began working for a shipping provision for a funeral home mostly picking up bodies of those who had died in assisted living facilities a job he described as he needed to do to pay bills Tim Koch the owner of Metro First Call commented Boelter voluntarily left that position about four months ago This is devastating news for all involved Koch mentioned declining to elaborate on the reasons for Boelter s departure citing the ongoing law enforcement review Boelter had also started spending selected nights away from his family renting a room in a modest house in northern Minneapolis shared by friends Heavily armed police executed a search warrant on the home Saturday Boelter I m going to be gone for awhile In the hours before Saturday s shootings Boelter texted two roommates to tell them he loved them and that I m going to be gone for a while according to Schroeder who was forwarded the text and read it to the AP May be dead shortly so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn t gone this way Boelter wrote I don t want to say anything more and implicate you in any way because you guys don t know anything about this But I love you guys and I m sorry for the trouble this has caused Associated Press writer Mike Balsamo contributed to this description from Washington Contact AP s global investigative crew at Investigative ap org or https www ap org tips The post What is known about Vance Boelter so far appeared first on MinnPost