'His Crimes Are the Stuff of Nightmares'

"It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares," acting US Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson said Monday as federal charges against Vance Boelter were unveiled. Boelter, 57, faces six federal charges connected to the murders of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and the shooting of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. Thompson said the charges carry a potential death penalty.

• Court appearance. Boelter, who was captured Sunday after the largest manhunt in state history, made his first appearance in a federal courtroom in St. Paul on Monday, NBC News reports. He did not enter a plea during the 12-minute hearing. A preliminary hearing and detention hearing was scheduled for June 27. Boelter was not present at a later hearing on state murder charges, where bail was set at $5 million.

• "This was a political assassination." According to an affidavit filed by FBI agents, Boelter "embarked on a planned campaign of stalking and violence, designed to inflict fear, injure, and kill members of the Minnesota state legislature and their families." "This was a political assassination," Thompson said. "Which is not a word we use very often here in the United States, let alone here in Minnesota. It's a chilling attack on our democracy, on our way of life. It's only the most recent example of political extremism in this country, and I hope it's a wake up call for everyone that people can disagree without being evil."
• He had more than 45 names on his list. Thompson said Boelter had a list with the names of more than 45 other state and federal officials, all Democrats. Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin's office said Monday that she was on the list, Politico reports. Authorities say the possible victims named include people in Illinois and Michigan. Prosecutors said Boelter visited two other homes early Saturday.

• "Dad went to war last night." According to the FBI affidavit, Boelter sent a text to his family saying, "Dad went to war last night ... I don't wanna say more because I don't wanna implicate anybody." In a text to his wife, he said, "Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for the situation… there's gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don't want you guys around."
• "Voluminous writings." Thompson said "voluminous writings" were found in Boelter's home and car that made it clear he had been planning the attacks for some time, People reports. "But I have not seen anything involving some sort of political screed or manifesto that would clearly identify what motivated him," he said. "Obviously, his primary motive was to go out and murder people. They were all elected officials. They were all Democrats. Beyond that, I think it's just way too speculative for anyone that's reviewed these materials to know and to say what was motivating him in terms of ideology or specific issues."
• Friends say he was religiously, politically conservative. Sources tell the AP that Boelter's list included the names of abortion rights activists. Friends tell the AP that he was deeply religious and attended Trump rallies but was never especially outspoken about his views. "He never talked to me about abortion," Paul Schroeder says. "It seemed to be just that he was a conservative Republican who naturally followed Trump."

(More Minnesota killings stories.)